Sunday Sept 28: Biking to the Colorado Trail

61 miles total today
The Colorado Trail is a hiking (and mt biking) trail that meanders over the rocky mountains from Denver to Durango, 415 miles.

I rode down the Platte Trail today down to Chatfield Reservoir and from there hung a right to catch the South Platte Trail to Colorado Trail trailhead then rode down Waterton Canyon Trail up past the Strontia Springs Dam. It was a fun ride, made possible by the fat tires on my new Miyata Six Ten! From the right turn at Chatfield until the end of the ride were all dirt paths.

South Platte Trail

Here's the Waterton Canyon Trail Map:


Here's information on the Colorado Trail:


Here's a picture of the Pike National Forest that borders the trail:


One more pic:


On the way back I bumbled onto perhaps a more direct route from Chatfield to Waterton Canyon:
1. Bike south down the main park loop road
2. take a right at the horse stable exit, "B&B Livery - Horse Rental" (its a half mile past the main park exit/entrance on Wadsworth Blvd)
3. find the dirt trail to Waterton (I think it should be obvious.)

I'm excited about today's adventure as I've been looking for a fun, bikeable route from Denver to a National Forest where I can go bike camping without being surrounded by RVs. And I finally found it! Next weekend, hopefully I'll try camping overnight in the Pike National Forest on the Colorado Trail.