The 4 Flowiest Rides in Salida, Colorado

Discover Salida's new flowy side!

Greg Heil

Images

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Sol Train East

by Greg Heil

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Sweet singletrack on the new Spartan trails. Photo: Marcel Slootheer, Salida Mountain Trails.

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Enjoying the new Spartan trails. Photo: Marcel Slootheer, Salida Mountain Trails.

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Sweet singletrack on the new Spartan trails. Photo: Marcel Slootheer, Salida Mountain Trails.

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Sweet singletrack on the new Spartan trails. Photo: Marcel Slootheer, Salida Mountain Trails.

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Pedaling along Spartan West with views of the Sawatch Range in the background. Rider/photo: Marcel Slootheer, Salida Mountain Trails.

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Sweet singletrack on the new Spartan trails. Photo: Marcel Slootheer, Salida Mountain Trails.

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Our four-legged friends are truly enjoying the new Spartan trails, too. Photo: Greg Heil

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View of the Sawatch Range from Spartan West. Photo: Greg Heil

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Flowy singletrack on Spartan West. Photo: Greg Heil

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Flowy singletrack on Spartan East. Photo: Greg Heil

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Towering ponderosa pines on Spartan East. Photo: Greg Heil

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Hoodoo and small kicker on Lower Rusty Lung

by Greg Heil

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Lower Rusty Lung

by Greg Heil

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Railing a berm on Burn Pile. Rider: Greg Heil

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Rusty Lung

by Greg Heil

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Solstice

by Greg Heil

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Solstice

by Greg Heil

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Solstice

by Greg Heil

Description

Salida’s trail system never stays stagnant and, instead, continues to grow and change as the years roll on. While part of this growth is an increase of the sheer mileage of trails available in this incredible mountain biking destination, another aspect of the growth is an expansion in the mountain biking experiences available in the trail system.

One of the newest mountain bike trail experiences to take the world by storm is the flow trail. Originally popularized by the construction of A-Line in the Whistler Bike Park, machine-built flow trails have now spread to all corners of the planet. In order to be a true mountain bike destination in 2020, it seems like you have to have at least one high-quality downhill flow trail as one of your trail offerings. 

Salida Mountain Trails—the multi-use trail building and maintenance organization responsible for the incredible network of singletrack accessible from downtown Salida—has embraced the rise of the flow trail. The efforts they’ve expended in the quest of the perfect flow trail went through many phases, and eventually culminated in Solstice—what is now, at the time of this writing, hands-down the best flow trail in the Arkansas Valley and arguably one of the best in Colorado.

While Solstice is easily the best flow trail in Salida, the other efforts built over the years were by no means shabby! In this guidebook, you'll find details for the 4 flowiest rides in the Salida Mountain Trails network, all of which provide a delightful berm and jump-filled mountain biking experience. 

Notably absent from this guidebook is the flowy Chicken Dinner trail, due to the chunk required to access it. But if you’re interested in riding Chicken Dinner, you can, of course, add that in as well.

Salida is no longer just a rocky, technical mountain biking destination—it now offers some of the best flow riding in the state!

Adventures

Spartan Loop

Salida's flowiest, most beginner-friendly loop offers up gorgeous mountain views.