Passes & Canyons Blog

On the road with the OFMC.

People are planning their motorcycle trips for this summer right now. I tell potential advertisers on this site that if they are not going to do a full year of advertising they need to do it now, not during the summer. Year after year my lowest traffic month is November and in December it starts picking up again and then climbs and climbs. This is when people are doing their planning, and if you want them to stay in your motel, this is when you should be reaching them.

I frequently am asked to offer my thoughts on a proposed trip route, such as the post I just did a few days ago. Well, here’s another request and my reply. (By the way, it was suggested that I might have routed that last group over Guanella Pass, and that was what I would have done, but I know they are doing work on that road, finally paving it all the way over, and it is going to be a mess this summer. So I chose an alternate route.)

Here’s the request:

Hi Ken,

I have been riding quite a lot in the States, have done some rides in Colorado too. Colorado is among my favorite states when it comes to motorcycle riding, but this time I am having difficulties figuring out what to do. My dilemma is that my wife and I want to spend about 8 days riding, starting May 1st. Basically the itinerary we are looking at is:

Denver – Estes Park – Steamboat Springs – Keystone – Aspen – Durango – Gunnison – Black Canyon. I am confused as what kind of road closures we may expect at that time. I understand it all depends on the snowpack, but still. Is there any suggestion, you could do ? Like: don’t do it, it is way too early in the season, many roads will still be closed and your fingers will get frozen or do you think it could well be done. It is hard to find this kind of information.

I look forward to receiving your opinion.

Thank you,
Ed

In case you’re wondering, Ed is from the Netherlands. So here’s my reply:

Ed–Always happy to try to assist. Here’s what I think is likely.

Denver to Estes Park, no problem. Whether you take the Big Thompson Canyon or the Peak to Peak Highway, it will be clear (unless we get a spring snowstorm, which is always possible).

Estes to Steamboat, depends on your route. The direct route would be over Trail Ridge Road but that will almost certainly not be open at that time. You could, instead, go south from Estes to I-70 and then over Berthoud Pass to Winter Park and on to Steamboat. Or go through the tunnel to Silverthorne and then take the road through Kremmling to Steamboat.

Steamboat to Keystone, should be no problem, whatever route you take.

Keystone to Aspen, doable on I-70 but Independence Pass will not be open yet.

Aspen to Durango, no problem.
Durango to Gunnison, no problem.
Gunnison to the Black Canyon, no problem.
Black Canyon back to Denver, no problem.

It always hinges on the weather, and you could get the most gorgeous weather imaginable. Or you could get a blizzard. I would certainly recommend that you bring heated gear. I love my electric vest and heated gloves. I ride all year round and use those. The middle of the day is fine but as soon as it gets dark it gets cold, especially in the mountains. When it’s snowing there’s just nothing you can do. And there’s no way to know this far in advance what is likely to happen.

Hope that helps.

[end of response]

I enjoy it when people ask me for my thoughts on this. I’ve even had the chance to meet some of them when they’ve gotten out here. It’s just one of the things I enjoy about running this website.

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