FATMAP by Strava

Winter Park: Top-to-Bottom Enduro Ride

Winter Park

Winter Park Ski Area

Use Winter Park's gondola to put together a fun enduro-oriented ride.

Mountain Biking Difficult

Distance
17 km
Ascent
278 m
Descent
768 m
Duration
1-2 hrs
Low Point
2.7 km
High Point
3.4 km
Gradient
Winter Park: Top-to-Bottom Enduro Ride Map

While Trestle Bike Park at Winter Park Resort is known as the best park in the state of Colorado, you can also use the lifts to put together some entertaining enduro-style rides that mix fast descents and moderate pedaling into a unique mountain bike adventure.

Description

This ride begins by climbing a short section of dirt road before hitting the Upper Roof of the Rockies trail. Some of the first pitches on Upper Roof can be quite steep, but thankfully the grade mellows out higher up.

After passing the high point and an optional side trip to an overlook, it's time to descend! The descent on Upper Roof follows a delightful stretch of singletrack comprised of dark black dirt and root webs crossing the trail tread, along with a few wooden bridges crossing wet areas. Keep your eyes open for hikers on this section, as this is a popular hike within the resort boundary.

After leaving Upper Roof behind, this route drops into the mellow flow of Happy Camper before picking up the speed on the big berms and senders on Happier Camper. It finishes the downhill portion of Paper Boy, home to some of the easiest jumps on the mountain and some of the best flow of any trail at Trestle.

From the bottom of the Olympia Express, you'll have to climb a short section of dirt road to reach the connection to the Lower Arapahoe trail—remember, this is an "enduro" ride!

From Lower Arapahoe, you'll connect to Eye to Eye—one of the best sections of this entire ride. Eye to Eye is a beautiful singletrack route providing great views from logging cuts in the forest. Thanks to the wide-open cuts, you can see down into the valley below and to the towering Rocky Mountains beyond.

The trail is tight in spots, with a few short, steep downhill pitches through rock gardens and classic Colorado decomposing granite. While a few rocks and eroded sections do pose a bit of a challenge, many maps give this trail a black diamond rating, which is entirely overblown. This trail only barely ranks a FATMAP "Difficult" rating, providing an upper-intermediate mountain bike ride.

While Eye to Eye looks like a great descent out of the resort on the trail map, note that it's definitely not just a high-speed rip. A few steep, punchy climbs along the way will definitely keep you honest!

The finish on Serenity is very serene. While this trail climbs to get back to the resort, it runs through towering timber and crosses a few babbling streams. The dirt is beautiful and dark, and there are some big roots and boulders to keep you on your toes.

For a varied enduro ride utilizing Trestle's lift system, you can't go wrong with this ride combination!

Difficulty

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.

Medium Exposure

2 out of 4

The trail contains some obstacles such as outcroppings and rock which could cause injury.

Remoteness

2 out of 4

Away from help but easily accessed.

Best time to visit

between June and September

Features

  • Flow
  • Technical
  • Picturesque
  • Singletrack
  • Jumps
  • Roots
  • Tabletops
  • Rock Gardens

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area