Colorado Springs: Best MTB Trails on the Colorado Front Range

Of all the major metro areas lining Colorado's Front Range, Colorado Springs boasts the best mountain bike trail access—hands down. While Denver sits way out in the flat plains, the city of Colorado Springs runs up onto the foothills of the mighty Rocky Mountains.

And these are more than mere foothills the majestic Pikes Peak, renowned as "America's Mountain," towers above the city, soaring to a height of 14,115 feet above sea level. As one of Colorado's famous 14ers, Pikes Peak is a national landmark, and it's also one of the few 14ers with a bike-legal trail to the top of it.

Seemingly everywhere you turn the Springs you'll find a mountain bike trail. Numerous city parks scattered throughout the metro area boast top-caliber trails right in the heart of the city. You'll find spectacular mountain bike trail systems within the city limits at Palmer Park, Ute Valley Park, Red Rock Canyon, and Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Palmer Park alone boasts over 20 miles of trail, and Cheyenne Mountain State Park is home to over 28.

Accessible from the edge of town is a massive interconnected web of classic singletrack, including Captain Jack's, Section 16, Stratton Open Space, and much more. You can even ride epic backcountry trails high up the flanks of Pikes Peak, and even to the very summit if you're truly looking for an epic adventure!

With so many trails on offer, you'd think that these singletrack gems would be packed with riders. While some of the more popular routes can get busy on the weekends, the trail traffic is still quite reasonable. "To top it all off, with a metro area less than one fourth the size of Denver, there’s rarely any concern about the type of overcrowding that plagues the most popular venues next to the bigger city," writes local mountain bike explorer John Fisch.

This guidebook provides an overview of the best mountain bike route itineraries in each of these fantastic trail systems. Dive into these classic Colorado Springs rides and start exploring some of the best trails that Colorado has to offer!

Sources:
Singletracks.com, "Riding the Springs, Part 1"
Singletracks.com, "Top 10 Mountain Bike Cities in North America