This loop in southwestern Colorado is only about 275 miles, but it's approximately a 6-hour ride from Denver where the ride starts. You can also get to this loop through Gunnison and Montrose from the north.
Here's a highly rideable way to get from Denver to Durango. Take US 285 south out of Denver. At Buena Vista (site of State Prison with the Best View) turn left, and continue on US 285 to Poncha Springs. Take US50 west over Monarch Pass to Gunnison (excellent), then CO 149 through Lake City (site of Alferd Packer's Big Meal), over Slumgullion and Spring Creek passes. 149 then follows the Rio Grande river to Creede and South Fork, where it joins US 160. Take 160 west, over Wolf Creek Pass, through Pagosa Springs to Durango. This route is about 1.5 hours longer than the straight shot, but the riding is fabulous.
OK, you're ready to start a ride that arguably has the most spectacular scenery on the planet.
Take US550 out of Durango through Hermosa and Rockwood to Silverton (well worth a stop) and Ouray (also worth a stop. This road is called the "Million Dollar Highway", and goes over two fabulous passes, Molas and Red Mountain. Hardy dual-purpose riders will find opportunites around Siverton, including Engineer Pass to Lake City, and Black Bear and Imogene Passes to Telluride. The Million Dollar Highway is smooth and sweeping with switchbacks and steep drop-offs in the high spots. Don't run wide.
Continuing north of Ouray, take CO 82 from the village of Ridgway to Placerville, over Dallas Pass. This is the start of the San Juan Skyway, also a designated Scenic Byway. An excellent campground exists 5 miles north of Ridgway on US 550 at Ridgway State Recreation Area.
>From Placerville, take CO 145 to Telluride, a Must Visit on this loop. You can camp out in the Telluride City Park Campground if you like.
Back out of Telluride, CO 145 goes over Lizard Head Pass, then smoothly sweeps along the Dolores River to (of all places) Dolores, CO. Lots of camping and fishing opportunites in this area, at McPherson Reservoir and elsewhere.
>From Dolores, you return to Durango vi CO 184 and US 160, but Mesa Verde National park is not to be missed, if you have an extra day or so to spend. CO 145 continues south of Dolores to Cortez, CO, then US 160 takes you to the park entrance.
Back on the other side of Durango on US 160, a local road heads north about twenty miles from Bayfield, CO. This leads to Lake Vallecito, beautiful camping and excellent fishing.
It is left to the student to find a way back to Denver. There aren't any bad ones, if you stay off the freeway.
This ride commences in Carbondale, CO, which can be reach from the front range area via Independance Pass and Aspen, or by taking I-70 to Glenwood Springs, then CO 82 to Carbondale (see previous Independance Pass gibberish).
Taking CO 133 west from Carbondale, the ride starts with a straight run across farmland with the majestic bulk of Mt. Sopris dead ahead. The Crystal River Canyon is entered to the west of Mt. Sopris, and winds its way past Redstone and Marble (both great places to investigate) up to McClure Pass. This little canyon is twisty, cool, and verdant, like some fairy-tale camelot. It's a complete pleasure for the senses.
Up and over the pass, and the west side is a land of smooth sweepers, light traffic, some twisty spots and lush vegetation, to Paonia, CO. Paonia is the site of the annual Top 'o the Rockies BMW rally, which is an excellent excuse to take this ride, with camping-out in the town park, and lots of bike stuff going on. They take all brands.
To continue on what I call the Black Canyon Loop, continue on CO 133 to Hotchkiss, CO, to pick up CO 92. Make SURE you stop in Hotchkiss and take a look in the window of the little bank. The owner of the bank is a fanatic antique motorcycle collector, and always has a machine on display in the bank window. The last time I stopped there, it was a 1917 Henderson Four, in showroom-floor condition.
CO 92 heads through Crawford (the Crawford State Recreation Area has excellent fishing, and fairly rough camping) and Maher and suddenly becomes VERY twisty at the entrance to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. Be careful. A close friend of mine overcooked a corner and lost his life in this area a few years ago.
What can I say about the north side of the Black Canyon. It's magnificient? Yeah, that'll do for now.
The road winds around the canyon, then flattens out and continues to follow the Gunnison River through the Curecanti National Recreation Area, which includes lots of camping spots and Blue Mesa Reservoir, for more trophy fishing. It's just a few miles from there to the town of Gunnison, where you have to decide if you want to take some dirt roads or not. If not, you have to go back the way you came, or head over Monarch Pass back to Buena Vista.
Crested Butte is up the paved road from Gunnison only 17 miles, but then you have your choice of dirt roads in varying conditions to close the loop.
The Kebler Pass road (not made by elves) is about 25 miles of smooth, well maintained dirt, and is very easy. I did it on a K75S, fully loaded for touring, two-up. It winds around over the mountain, and deposits you back on CO 133, east of Paonia, at the Paonia State Recreation Area (another great outdoorsy place). Tough guys with capable equipment can tackle Schofield Pass from Crested Butte to Marble, coming out on the east side of McClure Pass on CO 133. Schofield Pass goes right past Maroon Peak, and is the only road through the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area (the only other way to get into the Maroon Bells area is to take a bus tour loaded with farting californiacs from Aspen, or walk).
There you have it. This is one of my personal favorites, and I'll be there when the BMW rally comes around.
This is a half-day ride, close to Denver. It is a feature of the annual R'nF, probably an R before the actual R.
Start on the 6th Avenue Freeway (US 6), headed west from Denver. Continue on US 6 under the I-70 overpass toward Golden. US 6 curves north and heads downhill. At a traffic light, there's a little sign pointing to the left (west) that says "Lookout Mountain" "Buffalo Bill's Grave". Take a left and head through the residential area. This road rachets up the side of the mountain in an incredibly twisty fashion, with 1st gear switchbacks. People that fall down on this road generally do it by going too slow and wobbling too much. At the top, there's a little museum at the aforementioned Bill's resting place, and a nice little place to get some refreshments (this is a City of Denver Mountain Park). Start out early in the morning, because this road soon fills up with a plague of bicyclists. Boy do THEY wobble.
Continue until you reach I-70 again, and take a short run down it to the Evergreen/Bergen Park exit. Go south to Bergen Park, and take the right at the light on CO 103 to Squaw Pass. A nice, twisty ride of twenty miles or so will bring you to Echo Lake, a very scenic spot with a stop for refreshments (again) and souvenirs. There are several nice-looking public campgrounds around the top of Squaw Pass, although I haven't tried any of them. I once took this ride on a cool fall day when the aspens were turning, and dropping their leaves all over the place. It was EXCELLENT.
At Echo Lake, take a right onto CO 5, and go up Mount Evans, another Denver Mountain Park, the closest 14000+' mountain to Denver. This road is widely advertised as the highest paved road in the world, and goes nearly to the summit of the mountain. It will be chilly, windy, and generally nasty at the top, and your bike will NOT run worth a damn, but it seems like you can see most of the earth from the top, curved horizon and everything.
You pretty much have to go back down CO 5 the way you came, to Echo Lake. Take a left back onto CO 103, through the twisties (these were the site of 1993's Elweed Award) to Idaho Springs, a nice place for buffalo burgers, touristy stuff, and taking-of-pictures next to the giant bronze statue of Steve Canyon. A nearby gulch was officially named "Steve" by the town council, hence the statue (Steve canyon, get it?).
Dual-purpose riders will want to check out the Ohmygod Road, which goes over a high pass from Idaho Springs to Central City. Consult locally, because I can't remember exactly how to find it in town. Otherwise, you can take I-70 to the Central City exit and pick up the Peak-to-Peak to elsewhere, if you wish.
The ideal excuse to take this ride is to attend the motorcycle races held at Steamboat in the middle of September of every year. This year's races (1994) will be held on the 13th - 18th, and will start with vintage dirt-track and TT races held at the Hayden Speedway, about 25 miles west of Steamboat on US 40, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Observed Trials will be held on Thursday, at the Howlson Hill ski-jumping facility, right in the middle of town. Friday will be vintage Motocross, held at the track at the Mt.Werner Circle turnoff from US 40, at the south edge of town. Saturday is AHRMA Vintage Roadracing, held on the streets in the same vicinity, using Mt. Werner Circle as part of the track. On Sunday, the MRA will hold their regular sprint events for modern stuff on the same track.
From the front range area, go to Empire either via I-70 (US40 exit), or via your favorite canyon and the P2P. Take Berthoud Pass over to Winter Park, and continue to Granby. US40 then turns west to Kremmling, then up over Muddy Pass and Rabbit Ears Pass to Steamboat. An EXCELLENT ride.
There are good campsites in the National Forest on Rabbit Ears Pass, and plenty of accommidations in Steamboat, including ski condos with balconies overlooking the racecourse. All very reasonable at that time of the year, since school has started, and snow hasn't fallen yet.
Be aware that any kind of weather can happen along the route at that time of the year. It tends to be a bit moist, so be prepared.
My little group of racing buddies has a campout every year after the races, held on Buffalo Pass, west of Steamboat. In fact, I recommend this as a return route even though it's a fairly rough dirt road, because it's simply fabulous for scenery and outdoorsy stuff. The road runs right along the border of the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness. By walking into the wilderness area about 1/2 mile, you can find some of the best fishing on the planet. Inquire locally about how to get to the Buffalo Pass road, which leads right out of downtown Steamboat, because it is very poorly marked.
After about twenty miles of rough road and spectacular sights, the road again becomes paved on the east side of the pass. Another few miles brings you to CO14, which upon turning right, will take you back to Kremmling via Muddy Pass, or by subsequently turning left onto another 15-mile dirt road across the North park area, to CO125 at Rand. Either way gets you back to Granby, where it MIGHT be possible to take Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park, back to the front range. No guarantees that time of year, though.
In event of really bad riding conditions, or if you simply want to go another way, you can take CO9 south from Kremmling to I-70 at Silverthorne (a nice ride), then I-70 back to Denver through the Eisenhower Tunnel (not TOO bad, for an interstate).
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