12 m away
Vitamin B Gravel Grinder
A gravel ride through iconic “spaghetti western” terrain.
Easy Mountain Biking
- Distance
- 35 km
- Ascent
- 736 m
- Descent
- 736 m
The best high-desert singletrack trails in Buena Vista (as of 2018) combined into one ride.
Mountain Biking Difficult
Buena Vista's trails are split into two different trail networks: the Whipple Trails, right above downtown, and the Midland Hills trails to the southeast. While the two networks are distinct, they're connected by an old railroad grade-turned gravel road. This old railroad grade is known as the Midland Trail, taking its name from the now-defunct rail line.
Similar to Salida's Arkansas Hills, the trails above Buena Vista (BV) are in a high desert environment, making for a loose-over-hardpack soil composition, with lots of slabby granite rock obstacles. However, most of the trails in this network are at a slightly higher elevation than Salida (a little over 8,000 feet), meaning they can hold snow for longer in the winter.
The Whipple Trails, overall, are steeper than the trails in the Midland Hills area. Broken Boyfriend is undoubtedly the marquee trail on the Whipple side, and while it can easily be bypassed on this route, it's one of the most entertaining trails in the system with tons of chunky rock features.
The new Bridge-to-Bridge trail and Camp Elevation trails in this zone provide high quality singletrack both up and down at the beginning and end of this loop, respectively, but they still offer tight, serpentine track that's not especially beginner friendly.
The Midland Hills trails (Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and Django) in comparison aren't as steep as the trails climbing up from downtown BV, but they're arguably even more technical with big, slabby rocks and optional advanced moves.
Once on the singletrack portion of the Midland Trail, the grade is considerably mellower than the other singletrack trails included in this route--it's an old railroad grade, after all. However, new singletrack portions that were built to reroute around drainages are more technical than the railroad grade itself. Despite the slightly increased difficulty created by the reroutes, if you choose to park at the upper Midland Trail trailhead and ride this portion as an out-and-back, it's one of the most beginner-friendly singletrack mountain bike rides in the Arkansas Valley.
The furthest reaches of this route utilize the new Bacon Bits trail. While the grade is very mellow and beginner-friendly, the Buena Vista Singletrack Coalition, who built this trail, worked tirelessly to incorporate alternate line options, so beginner riders can stick to the mellow singletrack and advanced riders can opt for big rock up-and-overs, rock drops, and more.
Difficult
Mostly stable trail tread with some variability featuring larger and more unavoidable obstacles that may include, but not be limited to: bigger stones, roots, steps, and narrow curves. Compared to lower intermediate, technical difficulty is more advanced and grades of slopes are steeper. Ideal for upper intermediate riders.
12 m away
A gravel ride through iconic “spaghetti western” terrain.
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Freshly-built tech-gnar constructed in 2019 that's sure to punish you.
Extreme Mountain Biking
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Severe Mountain Biking
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Easy Mountain Biking
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Moderate Mountain Biking
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Moderate Mountain Biking
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An OG Buena Vista ride on the Midland Railroad Grade.
Moderate Mountain Biking
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One of the most brutally-technical and high-consequence mountain bike trails in Central Colorado.
Extreme Mountain Biking
8.9 km away
This faint singletrack trail runs through a remote zone right on the border of the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness.
Difficult Mountain Biking
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