Posts
20
Joined
10/16/2017
Location
Chesapeake, OH
US
Edited Date/Time
11/19/2018 4:27pm
Me and a couple buddies are planning a trip out west to ride next summer/ early fall.Looking for scenic and single track trails to ride in the Colorado and Utah area. May hit up a track or two as well. The plan is to pull the trailer with the motorhome. We will be starting out in Ohio and heading towards Colorado and Utah. We plan to leave Ohio on August 22nd and return home Sept. 2nd. Just looking for some recommendations on places to ride!
How far West do you want to go? Mountain riding in Utah is a bit further NorthWest...and there is more desert riding in South Western Utah.
The Shop
MotoCoUSA - Can you pick up a trail pass at any motorcycle shop in Colorado? Most of us will be on YZ250s. Do we need spark arrestors?
Titan1 - I was into Jeeps for years so we will definitely be going to Moab and Black Bear Pass in Col. Right now nothing is set in stone. We are just looking for the best trails out there whether it be scenic or single track.
Does anyone know when most of these trails close for the year? We really wanted to go towards the end of September but wasn't sure if the trails would be closed by then for the winter.
As for where to go, you'll have to do some work. Lots of the good stuff is kept quiet now because of what happened in TP. If you go on KTMtalk Trip Reports and read between the lines you can learn quite a bit. Maybe make a few contacts and gain their trust. I've had people there offer to come ride with us so if you'd like that there is that possibility too. Just don't expect anyone to jump up and volunteer right off the bat. In the end, if you do the work ahead of time, you'll have an experience that will blow your mind.
National Geographic has great maps that often are pretty current as well. And there used to be a booklet you could buy called The Trails of Colorado by L&M Productions I think, that's a great place to start, although it's pretty old now. But a lot of those systems are still in use today and it'll give you a good idea of what you're in for. *****I just went to look for a link for the book but the only one I can find is their Idaho one, which I have and it's also great. If I come across one I'll link it here later.
November the passes are closed... September should be good.
As mentioned above, you'll all need spark arrestors and trail permits. Out of state riders do not need to register their bikes, but they do have to buy a permit. You can get them online here: http://cpw.state.co.us/buyapply/Pages/RegistrationsOHV.aspx
Figure out where you're riding and determine if you'll need to re-jet. Your lowlander bikes will run like shit at altitude.
If you're riding the NFS, buy the trail maps and bring a GPS to mark waypoints. The trails are usually well marked, but it helps to have reference material especially cause you might not have any cell service on the trail. Search and Rescue ain't cheap.
Decomposed granite likes to puncture tubes. Bring spares or patch kits. In fact, bring tools and basic spares.
There are so many places to ride all over the state. If you ask me, the best are the ones that no one else goes to. Rampart Range (near Sedalia, CO) has too many cidiots... Just a little past there is Rainbow Falls, Texas Creek, and West Creek.. which are all great. Buena Vista and Salida have all kinds of great riding. There's apparently some epic stuff near Blackhawk/Central City and again out near Gypsum that I have yet to ride but can't wait to. The stuff farther west is amazing and might be more temperate at the end of September.
September puts you at the end of archery and muzzleloader season for big game, too. Don't be a dick to hunters.
Stay the Trail has some maps and riding areas marked out: http://staythetrail.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=266593&module_i…
That's my hangout, even though it's been taken over by side by sides lately...
I've got a cool video of me conquering Red Cone on the KLR on Youtube, plus many others.
Here's Imogene
https://youtu.be/pBslHc5Gqtg
And Red Cone
https://youtu.be/-awVn8MuBbk
Nice videos! You're right, though.. Jeeps and side by sides are all over that place.
Thunder valley is about an hour away, right off I70. Grand junction is around a 3 hour drive from thunder, then you can head over to moab, which I agree is a must if you're out this way.
Imogene pass is amazing in a 4X4, but I'm not much for riding on jeep trails, it is a destination for the view, not the riding, plenty of better spots for moto.
That is a great time of year to ride out here, hope you get your trip all dialed in and have an epic adventure!
If you get up to the wasatch front (northern Utah), I'd say go ride Hobble Creek Canyone/Diamond Fork Canyon...I like the single track just as much as American fork canyon, but there is very few people up there...the trails are more technical-which is what keeps a lot of people away from them: lesser skilled dirt bike riders, and mountain bikers-and the views aren't quite as good...but I like it just as much.
PeelOut could tell you more about the trails even further North.
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