Little Rainbow Loop
One of the least technical rides in Salida, the singletrack is still flowy and fun.
Easy Mountain Biking
- Distance
- 21 km
- Ascent
- 356 m
- Descent
- 356 m
A flow ride with perfect berms and jumps up high, and tougher natural features down low.
Mountain Biking Difficult
While the eastern section of Sol Train was originally envisioned as a climbing trail, the perfectly-sculpted berms, tabletop jumps, and rollers led to Sol Train East quickly being reconsidered as a downhill-oriented flow trail! It's curious to observe, but many local riders think that Sol Train East ended up having a much better and predictable flow than Sol Train West, the intended downhill trail. Consequently, this new flow trail addition to the Salida Mountain Trails network has quickly become a locals' favorite!
You can access Sol Train East via several different trails, including descending Gutz or climbing Race Track. However, for a full-blown mountain bike ride, consider this route combination. This figure-8-style ride climbs road 110 before connecting to Spartan East, following Spartan East to Little Rainbow, climbing Sun Up, and then dropping down Sol Train East. After finishing Sol Train East, you could definitely continue down Race Track, but for a more aggressive (and berm-filled) descent, pedal over to Lost Trail for a fast drop back to the valley floor.
Sol Train embodies all the new school trail building principles that you've no doubt come to expect from modern flow trails. On Sol Train East you'll enjoy bermed turns with perfect radiuses, tabletop jumps with long sightlines, rollers with the option to double them up if you're moving fast enough, grade reversals, and a predictable trail tread. Lost Trail, on the other hand, is the result of attempting to turn an old school fall line trail into something of a flow trail, but not fully achieving that objective. The berms up top are tight and twisty, with the trail quickly opening up with high-speed downhills, natural kickers and drops, and the occasional rocky section.
If you enjoy a variety of features in your flow trail ride, with a little workout before you get to the goods, this route combination will deliver exactly what you're looking for!
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.
One of the least technical rides in Salida, the singletrack is still flowy and fun.
Easy Mountain Biking
1 m away
A scenic out-and-back ride to a little-visited ghost town.
Easy Mountain Biking
21 m away
A rowdy collection of the original tech trails in the Arkansas Hills.
Extreme Mountain Biking
21 m away
A gorgeous, challenging gravel loop from downtown Salida.
Easy Mountain Biking
21 m away
New school tech-gnar to challenge even the best of mountain bikers.
Extreme Mountain Biking
21 m away
A challenging 200km double loop through the Arkansas Hills region.
Easy Mountain Biking
21 m away
Get into a flow state on the newest singletrack trails in the Arkansas Hills Trail System!
Moderate Mountain Biking
21 m away
Pedal from downtown Salida high into the Arkansas Hills to access a ripping descent with fast, flowy sections and uber-gnarly rock gardens.
Severe Mountain Biking
21 m away
The Trans-Backbone route is an efficient, easy-to-navigate route through the Arkansas Hills trail system, with singletrack ranging from technical and challenging to flowy and fast.
Difficult Mountain Biking
2.9 km away
With the addition of Solstice, Salida finally boasts a true downhill flow trail!
Moderate Mountain Biking
14 routes · Mountain Biking
11 routes · Mountain Biking
4 routes · Mountain Biking
5 routes · Mountain Biking