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Royal Gorge Park

Salida

New school machine-built trails coupled with stunning views of the Royal Gorge make for a winning combination.

Mountain Biking Moderate

Distance
18 km
Ascent
353 m
Descent
353 m
Duration
1-2 hrs
Low Point
2 km
High Point
2.2 km
Gradient
Royal Gorge Park Map

This brand-new trail network in Royal Gorge Park is a welcome addition to Canon City's trail offerings. While some of the trails offer chunky rocks and technical challenge, overall most of the singletrack here consists of machine-built flow, making the trails very approachable for beginner and intermediate riders.

Description

While the trails shown here are all rideable and signed, by "brand new" I mean that at the time of this writing, the Royal Gorge Park trail network is still expanding. Canon City has hired a professional trail builder to build singletrack at this park, and new trails are being added at an impressive rate!

One obvious highlight of this trail network are the incredible views of the massive Royal Gorge itself, from the rim high above. The trails along the rim are also quite flat, making for a less strenuous ride for beginner and intermediate riders—despite being punctuated by rock challenges.

Over by Dream Weaver, Dark Side of the Moon, and The Maze, the trails' flavor changes substantially, with the trail system doubling down on machine-built flow, with berms and tabletop jumps aplenty. While the views are still gorgeous, the obvious focus is downhill shredding. In many ways, the descending on these wide machine-cut trails reminds me of light-duty bikepark trails, although over time the trail tread will undoubtedly get narrower and narrower.

Dream Weaver on its own is an absolute gem, with ridgetop singletrack offering expansive views of the entire region—Pikes Peak looming high above in the distance. And of course, the descent is so good that you'll face a bout of instantanous depression when it ends. But never fear—you can always pedal back up and ride it again!

Difficulty

Moderate

Mostly stable trail tread with some variability, with unavoidable obstacles 8in/20cm tall or less. Other obstacles such as rock gullies and steep sections may exist. Ideal for lower intermediate riders.

Extreme Exposure

4 out of 4

Some trail sections are extremely exposed where falling will almost certainly result in serious injury or death.

Remoteness

2 out of 4

Away from help but easily accessed.

Best time to visit

between March and November

Features

  • Flow
  • Technical
  • Drops
  • Tabletops
  • Rock Rolls
  • Rock Slabs
  • Rock Gardens

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area