Salida: Ride 47 - Bear Creek to Methodist Mountain
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Do you want to know why local riders regard Salida as one of Colorado’s best mountain biking towns? Do this ride.
This section of the Rainbow Trail is a local single-track staple and there are many well-documented variations of the route. This version, a clockwise loop incorporating
fun sections of the Methodist Mountain BLM area east of CR 108, serves as a sampler for two popular riding areas. The first area, the Rainbow Trail single-track between Bear Creek and Methodist Mountain, is first rate. The trail is fast with excellent transitions and flow. The terrain and scenery, if you slow down long enough to look around, are spectacular. It’s a cross-country rider’s dream.
The second area, along the power line road, is a popular early and late season playground and a fine alternate when snow covers higher trails. Single-track spurs opened in 2009 now provide legal technical alternatives to riding on the jeep road. Find a local to take you out and show you some of the prime circuits, but please ride only on legal, established routes.
This section of the Rainbow Trail is a local single-track staple and there are many well-documented variations of the route. This version, a clockwise loop incorporating
fun sections of the Methodist Mountain BLM area east of CR 108, serves as a sampler for two popular riding areas. The first area, the Rainbow Trail single-track between Bear Creek and Methodist Mountain, is first rate. The trail is fast with excellent transitions and flow. The terrain and scenery, if you slow down long enough to look around, are spectacular. It’s a cross-country rider’s dream.
The second area, along the power line road, is a popular early and late season playground and a fine alternate when snow covers higher trails. Single-track spurs opened in 2009 now provide legal technical alternatives to riding on the jeep road. Find a local to take you out and show you some of the prime circuits, but please ride only on legal, established routes.
Ride length: 17.2 miles
Ride type: loop (clockwise)
Riding time: 2-3 hours
Surface: paved roads (1.8 miles); dirt road/jeep track (9.9 miles); singletrack (5.5 miles)
Elevations: start/end 6,995’; max 9,020’; min 6,995’
Total climbing: gain/loss 3,345’
Aerobic level: strenuous (climbing - more than 3,000’ of it)
Technical level: 3 (some tricky rocks and loose sections; some laterally eroded side-cuts)
Season: May through October
USGS Quadrangles: Salida East, Wellsville, Poncha Pass
Ride type: loop (clockwise)
Riding time: 2-3 hours
Surface: paved roads (1.8 miles); dirt road/jeep track (9.9 miles); singletrack (5.5 miles)
Elevations: start/end 6,995’; max 9,020’; min 6,995’
Total climbing: gain/loss 3,345’
Aerobic level: strenuous (climbing - more than 3,000’ of it)
Technical level: 3 (some tricky rocks and loose sections; some laterally eroded side-cuts)
Season: May through October
USGS Quadrangles: Salida East, Wellsville, Poncha Pass