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Buena Vista: Ride 24 - Midland Bike Trail

For complete route information, see Arkansas Valley Mountain Biking: Leadville to Salida (Including South Park)

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This route provides a pleasant ride with terrific views. Not to be confused with the Midland Railroad Grade, this is the complete route from Trout Creek Pass to Buena Vista. The ride starts with a gentle descent into the Chubb Park State Wildlife Management Area. You’ll next ascend through a pine forest to a ridge with sweeping vistas of the Collegiate Peaks and Arkansas Valley. A fast descent on CR/FSR 315 brings you to the single-track of the Midland Railroad Grade, where technical detours into gullies once spanned by rail trestles put even experienced riders on the edge of their saddles. The last mile returns you to Buena Vista along the serpentine single-track of the Barbara Whipple Trail.

Ride length: 18.8 miles
Ride type: one-way with shuttle
Riding time: 2.5 hours
Surface: single-track (4.9 miles); dirt road (13.9 miles)
Elevations: start 9,480’; end 7,960’; max 9,750’; min 7,960’
Total climbing: gain 840’ - loss 2,375’ = total -1,535’
Aerobic level: easy (some climbing and the length make it somewhat moderate)
Technical level: 3 (the few technical sections are easily walked)

Season: April into November

USGS Quadrangles: Antero Reservoir, Marmot Peak, Buena Vista East