Passes & Canyons Blog

It’s pretty dang hard to beat motorcycle riding in Colorado.

Over the years I have received numerous requests from folks coming to Colorado to ride, asking me for recommendations on a route. I’m always happy to oblige and each one is different, with different parameters of what they want, how long they have . . . that kind of stuff.

The most recent is from Kevin in Indiana. He said he and a buddy have ridden many of the unpaved passes throughout the state by now they want to come on street bikes with their wives and do the pavement. Rather than the hub and spoke riding they have done out of Frisco and Crested Butte, Kevin asked for “an epic continuous trip” for his buddy’s 60th birthday.

Here’s what I sent him.

OK Kevin, I have something mapped out. A couple days are a bit over 250 but under 300. Obviously you can make any changes you see fit.

Figuring on you starting in Denver you can go north to Loveland, up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park, over Trail Ridge Road to Granby and then take US 40 on to Kremmling for the night. This is shorter than 250 but with Trail Ridge Road you’ll definitely want to be making stops. You will need to make a reservation to get into Rocky Mountain National Park. The less busy entrance is the Fall River Road entrance. Park entrance differs if you want to see the park or just go through. I believe they allow people passing through in without reservations both early and late. You’ll see plenty of the park just going through. If you don’t make a reservation you might want to spend the night in Estes so you’ll be right there to go through early. That’s what my wife and I did last year.

(As an alternative to Loveland and the Big Thompson you could go up any number of passes to the Peak-to-Peak Highway and take it north to Estes.)

From Kremmling take US 40 west a bit further and turn onto CO 134 over Gore Pass. At Toponas go south to Wolcott and I-70, then east to the Minturn exit and take Tennessee Pass to Leadville, then a bit further south to Twin Lakes and go over Independence Pass through Aspen and down to Carbondale. From Carbondale take CO 133 over McClure Pass down to Hotchkiss for the night.

From Hotchkiss go west on CO 133 to CO 65 through Cedaredge and over the Grand Mesa. When the road forks north of Mesa stay on 65 (left fork) on to I-70. Take I-70 to Fruita then take the road south through Colorado National Monument, on Rim Rock Drive. Exiting the south end of the monument find your way to US 50 south and go maybe 8 miles to Whitewater. Take CO 141 west toward Gateway, then south to Telluride. This is the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway. Spend the night in Telluride.

From Telluride go over Lizard Head Pass down to Cortez, US 160 east to Durango, then US 550 north over Red Mountain Pass (the Million Dollar Highway) to Montrose, then east on US 50 to Gunnison. Overnight in Gunnison.

From Gunnison, run back a few miles to the Blue Mesa Reservoir and turn south on CO 149 through Lake City over Slumgullion Pass, through Creede and down to South Fork. Take US 160 west over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs, then turn south on US 84 down into New Mexico to Chama. Go northeast from Chama over Cumbres and La Manga Passes on CO 17 up to Antonito, then US 285 north to Alamosa. Spend the night in Alamosa.

From Alamosa you have several options to get back to Denver. You can just take CO 17 north to pick up US 285 and follow that all the way to Denver. Or you can take US 160 east over La Veta Pass to Walsenburg, then go right back west and north out of Walsenburg on CO 69 to Westcliffe, then east on CO 96 on to Pueblo or up to Florence, to Penrose, and on to Colorado Springs.Or make your way to Canon City and then, because you guys are comfortable on gravel, take Phantom Canyon Road (CR 67) up to Cripple Creek, CR 61 up to Divide, pick up US 24, and take that to Woodland Park. At Woodland Park you can either continue on US 24 to Colorado Springs or go north on CO 67 through Deckers to Pine to US 285 southwest of Conifer. Then take 285 on into Denver.

This would be a heck of a good ride. Pick and choose what you like.

Besides being a nice guy and mapping this out for Kevin and his crew, I’ve done myself a favor here. First off, I got this blog post out of it. At this time of year it is harder than during the summer to keep coming up with blog ideas. But I may make it a triple. I figure this might well be a good basis for planning the 2025 OFMC trip. The 2024 trip is already planned but I might incorporate a lot of this for 2025. Also, I’ve been thinking for a long time about putting a ride together for the RMMRC. This might also go a long way toward that plan. We’ll just have to see what develops.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your only scoot has been a Knucklehead & you don’t even know what that is.

Recap: Steve and some buddies are coming from New Zealand in 2009 for some motorcycle touring in Colorado and Utah. This series of posts lays out their proposed routes, with my comments. Your comments are welcome as well.

Day 4

Leaving Ouray this morning, our Kiwi band heads north on US 550 through Montrose, and Delta, and on up to Grand Junction. Their plan is to ride the Rim Rock Drive route through Colorado National Monument, and then head back south, taking the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway through Gateway and Naturita, past Telluride and over Lizard Head Pass down to Cortez. This is going to be a bit of riding, totaling about 335 miles. Here’s the map. Click to see a larger version.

The ride up US 50 is uneventful and fairly fast. A significant portion of this road has been made into four-lane divided highway in recent years. Once they reach Grand Junction it will be necessary to enter the town and stay on the US 50 bypass on the south side before turning off onto Glade Park Road, the road that leads to Colorado National Monument. In the Monument, Rim Rock Drive is clearly marked, winding its way though and exiting to the north toward Fruita. Colorado National Monument is described as being a little bit of red-rock Utah within Colorado, and that’s not a bad description.

That’s not the only bit of red-rock Utah in Colorado that our crew will see today, however. Leaving the Monument they will head back east on I-70 to rejoin US 50 and backtrack a few miles to the south, to CO 141 and the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway. Along this road you’ll pass through farmland, areas of wild rock formations, and ultimately to a stretch that you would swear was Utah, except that red-rock cliffs don’t stop at the state line and this is still Colorado. Who knew? Additionally, one of the more interesting historical sights is the hanging flume, an old water channel built onto the sheer-rock cliffs. This is one of those things you’ll look at and wonder “How in the world did they do that?”

For a while after leaving the river this route crosses some high prairie and you’ll probably make some pretty good time. A little east of Naturita you leave CO 141 and pick up CO 145 to Norwood and Placerville. After passing through Placerville you start going up and what you’re really doing is coming around the back side of the mountains that enclose Telluride. Telluride itself is not actually on CO 145, so you have to take the county road about 5 miles to the town. Do. The setting for this little mountain town is simply awesome. And if you have the time, take the free gondola up to get a good look from above.

Heading south from Telluride, the next pass is Lizard Head Pass. Off to your right, high up on the ridge, you’ll see the rock formation that gave it the name. From there it’s down hill, down the valley, on to Cortez, where today’s ride ends.

Alternate Route

I have just one suggestion for this day, and it really only works when you consider the route the remainder of this trip will be taking. This is Day 4 and on Day 5, Steve and crew are heading over into Utah. When they return to Colorado on Day 7 there is not a lot on the agenda as they head for a night in the Eagle/Vail area. It might make good sense to skip Colorado National Monument on Day 4 and swing through there on Day 7, starting at the Fruita end and coming out at Grand Junction. Then on Day 4 you would just come north to the turn-off to CO 141 and the Unaweep highway. That would trim about 50 miles and at least an hour and a half off an otherwise long day, and add more interest to Day 7. Just a thought.,

We just got back from a week’s vacation and of course it was a working vacation. As soon as possible I’ll be adding a lot of new information to the website, filling in a few of the blanks. I’ve got new info and pictures on Unaweep Canyon, Lizard Head Pass, and Cuchara Pass. And I’ll be adding info on a number of additional motorcycle-friendly campgrounds. Also have a few eateries to list as recommended and one or two motels. Anyone who wants to recommend (or pan) restaurants and motels/hotels just send the information along. The whole idea with www.motorcyclecolorado.com is to provide useful information for others around Colorado.