Northern Colorado trails

[Wicked_Crash]

I'm considering a camping trip in northern Colorado (Grand Lake or Rand) and am trying to get an idea of the trails there. How many trails are in the area, length, difficulty, single track, that sort of thing. I would appreciate any input.

[endozen]

I'd be interested in those myself. Was really looking forward to the enduro that was gonna held there and has been cancelled. I've got many great memories of the trails up there, but none are clear enough to remember where the trailheads are.

[Merfman]

A couple of buddies went up there last week to scout the trails. One said they found 1 singletrack trail that looked familiar but it ended in a jeep road and they couldn't find the connecting trail after that. There are a lot of trails up there, unfortunately, they've been closed by a past forest (st)ranger. That ranger is no longer in charge of that district and the new ranger is actually looking for people to come back to his district and enjoy their forest. AFAIK, there are no maps of that area but a good place to check would be Fay Meyers in Denver. ..

Merf

[racemile]

Wicked,

I dont go to the area a lot, but, there are some intermediate single track and atv trails. Most of the rides in the area are short. The 4wd trails can be demanding and very rocky. I dont know of any maps in the area. To reach the area from I-70 head for Granby/Grandlake. Once you reach Grand Lake itself (the lake) start looking for a large plastic horse off to the left. Turn left when you find it. If you follow the road, it will turn into a dirt road and eventually fork. We usually take the left fork. that will bring you to the trail head for a trail. If you go past that open space there are plenty of camping areas around. You will have to explore from there. I would suggest trying the gilsonite trail when you are up there. I could take you there but giving you directions would take several more pages.

There is enough riding in the area for every skill level except expert.

We are going up this weekend. Let me know if you come up and I can show you what I know about the area. It wont take long, but there are some entertaining challenges.

Jason

P.S. Bryan is the real expert. He grew up in this area.

[endozen]

Merfman,

Is that Merf as in the YZ426 riding buddy of T. Dillon?

[ July 17, 2002: Message edited by: endozen ]

[ July 17, 2002: Message edited by: endozen ]

[Wicked_Crash]

Thanks,

I just found this web site where you can search for trails in any part of the state by recreation, area, forest, etc. Try it out, it's preety cool.

http://www.coloradoguide.com/recreation/

[endozen]

Thanks Wicked, just recalled another site for trail info:

http://www.wildernet.com/

[BrandonW]

Another option would be to get a hold of David @

www.atomtours.com He conducts tours all over Colorado, and will probably be more than happy to take you on a tour. If you don't want that, he might also be able to tell you where some great riding areas are. Give him a try.

Brandon

[Merfman]

Originally posted by endozen:

Merfman,

Is that Merf as in the YZ426 riding buddy of T. Dillon?

[ July 17, 2002: Message edited by: endozen ]

Uh oh, (ducking for cover) ... yea, that'll be me...

Merf

[Merfman]

Originally posted by endozen:

Hey Merf, Whassup?!? G Miller here, thought that might be you. Been able to squeeze in any riding with the closures to Pike NF? Wish the summer monsoon would get here so they will open it back up. I wonder if the Signal Butte trails-717 will open back up or if the forest service will claim erosion concerns and keep it closed?

Hey G! Jen was talking to someone who'd spoke to the local ranger and he said that it'd be a minimum of two years before Hacketts/Longwater/Metberry ever opened back up. I'm hoping they'll open up the trails you mentioned before that though. I saw you drive by the parking area a few weeks ago, tried to chase you down, and missed you somewhere. I think you ducked into "charlie's driveway". I seem to remember passing your truck and the punkin' was missing.

How bout you, any riding?

We're headed out to Aztec after work tomorrow if you wanna troop out..

Merf

[endozen]

Merf, that's kinda what I feared about the Hayman damage. I wonder how far into the 717 system that fire got, pretty much assumed Hackett area was destroyed. Haven't rode since the Inyan Kara WY race, been busy with kids and visitors. Probably can't make the Aztek ride tomorrow, but thanks for asking. You guys try to make it out every week? Have you rode at the track at Milliken? I did the National HS there this spring, thought the MX track was laid out very well. Been trying to get my son up to speed on his TT225(as much of a speed as that gets anyway!)then we'll probably try to do a weekend camping thing in the Taylor Park area. Haven't ridden there since the race they had back in the early 90's, but have heard many say the riding is epic.

[endozen]

Hey Merf, Whassup?!? G Miller here, thought that might be you. Been able to squeeze in any riding with the closures to Pike NF? Wish the summer monsoon would get here so they will open it back up. I wonder if the Signal Butte trails-717 will open back up or if the forest service will claim erosion concerns and keep it closed?