Just outside of Cortez lies the rising mountain biking mecca of Phil’s World. This trail system a tightly and well-built system of flowy desert trails. Don’t let the iconic nature of this area scare you though. Many of these trails are relatively easy and friendly for beginner riders and family rides.

The Main Loop has some fun riding for all levels, with amazing views!

Trust Loop and Hippie House offer more flatter terrain, but are still fun!

Fall and spring are a great time to ride Phil’s World, so consider a trip soon!

Map of Easier Trails at Phil’s World

To keep riders happier and safer, riders at Phil’s World are required to bike all loops in a counter-clockwise direction. Hippie House (dark green) and the Trust Loop (light green) are the easiest. The Main Loop (blue) offers a little more challenge but still remains largely non-technical.

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South of Crested Butte lies the town of Gunnison. Although mountain bikers typically gravitate toward Hartman Rocks, good riding also exists at Signal Peak. Northeast of the Western State Colorado University Campus, Signal Peak is a great area for beginner riders. Yet, it can entertain expert riders as well.

Typically, riders start from the WSCU Campus and begin following a mix of singletrack and road toward Signal Peak.

Signs explain wildlife closures.

Getting closer to Signal Peak.

The trail steepens quite a bit at the summit of Signal Peak and we chose to leave our bikes down lower. The views from the top are pretty good!

Looking at the town of Gunnison.

We then descended Signal Peak.

Instead of going down the way we came up, we descended a trail called Chicken Scratch toward the Contour Trail.

We then followed along the very easy but scenic Contour Trail east, and then all the way west.

There’s definitely some fun riding to be had in the Signal Peak area!

Signal Peak Options

The map below shows a general loop that can be made from the WSCU campus to Signal Peak, down Chicken Scratch and then on to the Contour Trail. The total loop is about 19.6 miles. As the road nears Signal Peak, it becomes increasingly difficult. Beginner riders may choose to skip Signal Peak itself and descend Chicken Scratch with the Contour Trail. Last, the Contour Trail (6.2 miles one way) is the easiest of the bunch and can easily be done as an out and back – a great option for kids!

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Located west of Durango and Cortez, Dolores is home to some fantastic mountain biking trails. Sitting on a mesa a few hundred vertical feet above the town, the Boggy Draw trail system offers some fun trails for the whole family. Packed with flow, but with minimum hills or technical obstacles, these trails appeal to the mass spectrum of riders, from beginner to expert. Furthermore, since most of these trails are protected by a shady forest, they can even be enjoyed in the heat of summer!

In meadows, the picturesque San Juans are easily visible.

We enjoyed scenic views from Italian Canyon Trail.

We also found an occasional challenge from time to time.

But mainly the trails were just plain fast and fun!

Map of Boggy Draw Trails

Though there are quite a few trails in the area, Boggy Draw and Mavericks trails are the best for beginner riders and mountain biking for the whole family. Also fairly easy, Italian Canyon offers just a little more challenge. Each of these is shown below. You can ride them as a loops, a combination of loops, or even and out-and-back.

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When most people think about riding in the Salida area, they think of riding off of Monarch Pass / Monarch Crest, or maybe even the Arkansas Hills area off S-Mountain, right on the east edge of town. But, south of town lies the Methodist Mountain system of trails that is generally less challenging, but still equally fun. Little Rainbow Trail is the backbone of this system of trails.

Little Rainbow Trail is also often rated as a beginner trail because it does not have very many technical moves. The trail is relatively wide and gravely, but generally does not have “rock moves” or very many steep sections.

Although Little Rainbow Trail is a very cross-country style trail that winds around up and down, it’s well built and is full of flow.

Best of all, it has great views of the Sawatch Range.

There are a few different descent options from Rainbow Trial to make it into a loop or a longer shuttle. Race Track is the easiest, and also the furthest along on the trail. But, it offers some great views of this spectacular canyon.

Race Track is also a pretty fun trail.

How to Ride Little Rainbow Trail

There are probably over a dozen variations of how you could ride this trail. The easiest is to park at the west entrance and ride the trail as an out and back. A loop or shuttle can be created with Race Track or some of the other descent trails (Skull, Lost, or Dead Bird). Other loop options exist with County Road 108 which cuts right through the center of Little Rainbow Trail. The map below suggests how to make a loop from downtown Salida using the Monarch Spur bike path. But, check out the map provided by Salida Mountain Trails as well.

Map of Little Rainbow Loop

Here’s a map to get you started on your Little Rainbow Trail riding! Green marks the actual Little Rainbow Trail (4.9 miles), purple marks Race Track (1.4 miles) which is the easiest descent option from Little Rainbow, and blue marks the rest of the full loop that can be done from town (13.4 miles).

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I have camped many times at Highline Lake State Park, but I have never actually biked there. I actually didn’t even know that there was a fair bit of singletrack there – enough trial to even hold an 18-hour race there. Research revealed that this course was around 6.6 miles, and it was easy. So, Natalie and I decided to check it out.

Following the 18 miles of Fruita bike race course allows you to ride a rather windy, but fun, non-technical loop around Highline Lake Reservoir.

The Bookcliffs provide some nice scenic backdrop.

We even saw a bald eagle soar right by us.

Natalie.

From on top of a hill that was not quite part of the race course, we caught a good view of most of the terrain that comprises Highline Lake State Park.

More of Natalie.

A few more of me.

A map of the 18 Hours of Fruita bike loop at Highline Lake State Park.

Highline Lake State Park offers a great setting for a weekend outing. Not only does is provide an easy and fun non-technical mountain bike ride, but it also offers on-site camping and swimming too. It’s a great place to spend some time with the family or with some beginner riders!

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Our second featured ride belongs to the Buzzard Gulch Trails which lie just southwest of Montrose, CO. This system of trails is close to as easy as it gets! But, they offer great views of the San Juans and Grand Mesa in the distance. This easy singletrack is fun and flowy for riders of all levels.

There are many trails that make up this system. They range in length from 0.1 miles to 1.3 miles. There are so many trails that sometimes making choices can be difficult. But, the main Buzzard Gulch is the easiest trail and is for true beginners. A couple of trails like Vulture Rim and Mail box are more difficult. The rest are largely at an “advanced beginner” level.

I the spring, the trails have a lot of colorful foliage like these claret cups.

I am pretty sure this is a lily of some sort, but don’t know the exact variety. It reminds me of a mariposa lily and sego lily, but with more yellow.

More claret cups.

One of the many views of the beautiful San Juans towering above.

Looking down at the Buzzard Gulch Trails from above.

The highlight of the area is the Spring Creek Canyon Overlook.

The more difficult Vulture Rim trail can offer a short bit of fun for more intermediate/advanced riders.

It looks a lot harder than it is.

This series of steps on the Vulture Rim trail can provide a nice challenge.

Map of Buzzard Gulch Trails

Here’s a map to get you started riding the Buzzard Gulch trails! I was able to piece together various loops to make a 13.6 mile ride. However, you can do much short as well!

And an image of the posted map at the trailhead. Click to enlarge.

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On this blog, we spend a lot of time writing about the harder skis and rides that we’ve done. We don’t always devote time to the easy things. And sometimes we even forego easy rides and skis in turn for more difficult challenges.

But, let’s face it. We can’t be hard core every day. And there are many days we play pretty mellow, but we tend not to always write about those. With my recent knee injury, I’ve been forced to play a little more mellow these last few months. Yet, I’ve still had plenty of adventures. So, yes, it turns out that you can have an adventure without being super hardcore after all, and that’s what this series of Mountain Biking 101 posts is all about.

Whether you are recovering from an injury, need a place to ride with the kids, or just want some easier singletrack to ramp up some base miles, there are plenty of fun trails and zones all over Colorado where you can play and have some adventures too. Over the course of this summer and beyond, we will be featuring these zones in our Mountain Biking 101 series of posts.

Our first featured ride belongs to the Rustlers and Wranglers trails out of Loma, Colorado, just west of Fruita. Many people refer to these as part of the Kokopelli Loops which are known for their beautiful views into the canyon of the Colorado River. Rustlers and Wranglers Loops share these amazing views, but are much less technical for riding.

Rustlers Loop

Rustlers Loop is 3.7 miles of fast and flowy singletrack that has some fantastic overlooks into the canyon of the Colorado River. You can park right at the start of the trail or add some dirt road miles by parking back at the main Kokopelli Trailhead parking. Signs at the start direct you to take the loop in a counter-clockwise direction. But, the nature of the technical features of the trail make it such that the clockwise direction is actually easier – so I would recommend that direction if the trail is not too crowded or you have a true beginner rider. Signs dot the trail with some beginner riding tips too!

Wranglers Loop

Riders willing to step it up a notch will have fun on this loop, which is approximately 6 miles long. The best way to do this loop is in a clockwise direction, starting by riding the Mary’s Loop trail, which is very easy at the beginning. Turn right onto Wranglers trail or make a shorter loop by taking Mary’s Cutoff to Wranglers. The descent on Wranglers is more difficult than the terrain on Rustlers but it is fun. Beginners may surprise themselves and what they find themselves riding as they gain confidence!

In short, Rustlers and Wranglers Loops are a great place to have a desert riding adventure that’s a little less technical than some of the surrounding trails. Both of these loops are fun for every level of rider! And the area is full of many other more advanced trails for those who need a little extra after riding with their beginner!

Map of Rustlers and Wranglers Loops

Here’s a map to get you started riding Rustlers and Wranglers Loops!

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