Some of Our
Favorite Roads in Colorado

It is hard to narrow down this list, but here are some of our favorite motorcycling roads out in the mountains. Each of them either crosses
a high mountain pass or follows along a scenic river/canyon !
 
 

Individual Rides:
                                                                                                                       #1   CO-14   Fort Collins to Walden (Poudre River, Cameron Pass)

#2   CO-125  Granby to Rand (Willow Creek, Willow Creek Pass)

#3   US- 40    Winter Park to Empire (Berthoud Pass)

#4   CO-133  Paonia to Carbondale (McClure Pass - Crystal River)

#5   CO-92    Gunnison to Hotchkiss (North Rim of The Black Canyon
                     of the Gunnison)

#6   US-50    Sargents to Poncha Springs (Monarch Pass)

#7   WY-70   Slater, Co. to Encampment, Wy.  (Battle Pass)
 
 
 

Favorite motorcycling roads along the Front Range:

#1  CO-74, CO-103, Morrison, Evergreen, Bergen Park, Squaw Pass, Echo Lake

#2  CO-67, Woodland Park to Deckers; JeffCo-126, Deckers to Pine Junction

#3  Deer Creek and South Turkey Creek Canyon Roads (from SW Denver)

#4  Boulder and Left Hand Canyon Roads (from Boulder)

#5  CO-105, Sedalia to Palmer Lake
 

Some other favorite roads for their scenery:

#1  US-550, Durango to Ouray (Millon Dollar Highway, Molas Pass)

#2  CO-82, Twin Lakes to Aspen (Independence Pass)

#3  US-24, Minturn to Leadville (Tennessee Pass)

#4  US-34, Granby to Estes Park (Rocky Mountain National Park)

#5 CO-149, Gunnison to South Fork (Lake Creek, Slumgullion Pass,
      Rio Grande River)
 
 

Ok,  it isn't in Colorado, but it starts and ends here, and is a worthwhile trip.

           Medicine Bow Mountains southwest of Laramie, WY.

           Starts and ends in Ft. Collins. Explore highways 230, 130,
           and 70; Snowy Range and Battle Passes. Overnight in the
           Encampment / Saratoga area. Call for information about
           reservations. Approx 380 miles. Meet at the Conoco
           station just west of the I-25/CO-14 exit at the north edge
           of Ft Collins. Early birds can get breakfast at the Dennys
           right across the road.

Start in SW Denver just south of C-470 and Wadsworth. We'll take the twisties down through Deckers to Woodland Park, then loop around to the west through Lake George, Jefferson and Kenosha Pass.
 
 

The ride started with the 130 curves of Deer and Turkey Creek Canyons on our
way to Aspen Park. A few miles to the west we turned off US-285 at Pine
Junction and headed south through the tight turns along the North Fork of the
South Platte River through Pine and Buffalo Creek. Then it was a bunch of
higher speed sweepers across the hills to Deckers. A quick stop for water, etc.,
then on through the forests to Woodland Park for a lunch stop.
 
 

Colorado at its most spectacular. The roads were occasionally damp from recent showers. Berthoud Pass was a treat this early on a Sunday morning with no traffic - especially the north side, which has abundant tight and sweeping turns.  Kremmling to the base of Rabbit Ears Pass is also an excellent stretch of sweeping turns. The park in Maybell offered a snack stop opportunity. This park is a good fee camping spot with lush grass for tents and restrooms with a shower.
 
 

 The St.Vrain river full of rushing water and the winding road through the canyon. Peak to Peak Highway. Swapping howdies with another motorcycle group at Estes Park. Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail Ridge Road. Elk with big antlers. Tourist traffic and a pace that let us take in all the scenery. Snow banks along the road. Dark skies ahead. A short break at 11,796'. Milner Pass. Beautiful
views at Fairview Curve. Light rain through the forest. Soft, pretty light on the
headwaters of the Colorado River.

Lunch with happy Concours riders at Grand Lake. Sail boats on Shadow
Mountain Lake. Dark skies toward the north. Riding the empty, curvey road
along the creek up toward the Divide. Cooler temperatures and more light rain
approaching Willow Creek Pass. A couple photos in the drizzle. Back down the
empty, curvey road. A stop in Granby for gas and for telling each other what a
fun road we just traveled. Zooming up to Berthoud Pass. Another photo and
good-byes before heading back to town.
 
 

Our July ride, with seven bikes and eight folks, took us up on the Colorado -
Wyoming border to explore some roads many of us had never seen. The
highlight was WY-70 between Encampment and the Colorado border.

Pete, Carey, Lance, and I joined up in SW Denver for the ride to Ft Collins
where we were met by Doug, Kathy, Rick, and Carl. We headed north on
US-287 over the forested hills that turned to high plains just across the
Wyoming border. A stop for gas at Laramie, then west on WY-130 across the
plains, with views of the Medicine Bow Range in the distance. At Centennial the
road started to twist and climb into the scenic mountains. The guys in the lead
stopped at Snowy Range Pass (el 10,947') so we could enjoy the great
mountain vistas to the east and west and the snow covered mountains rising just
north of the Pass. Some of us got a "guided tour" of a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500
Drifter that was stopped there too.

We continued on west, winding down out of the mountains to the North Platte
River valley and to the town of Saratoga for lunch. Pete said there was a good
"ma and pa" cafe in Saratoga, so the lead guys stopped at "Ma's Cafe". I had a
hamburger, Carl had soup... Nevermind, Doug said this shouldn't be a food
review. Anyway, we decided WY-130 to the north probably wouldn't be all
that scenic so we went straight on down WY-230 to Riverside where we had
spaces reserved at Lazy Acres Campground. Nice cool place right by the
Encampment River with lots of shade trees. Larry and Judy, the owners, treated
us like guests at their house rather than just as paying customers. Great
Wyoming hospitality.

After the tents were set up, and two cabins moved into, we headed west to
explore WY-70. The maps showed it to be paved for a ways then to turn to
gravel, so we figured we would ride it as far as it was good and/or fun. We
enjoyed the sweeping corners and great pavement up to Battle Pass (el 9,915'
on the Continental Divide) where we stopped to view the scenery. We were
surprised to see the road still paved to the west so we took off again. After miles
of more sweepers we paused at a scenic turnout where we could see Hahns
Peak and the other mountains near Steamboat Springs, about 25 miles to the
south. On west again, finally stopping at Slater, Colorado (one house and an old
mobile home that is the post office). We couldn't believe almost perfect road
conditions (the road isn't plowed in the winter so it doesn't suffer freeze / thaw
problems), the lack of traffic, sweepers one after another, and the beautiful
mountain scenery. So we turned around and did the 45 miles right back to
Encampment!

After settling back into camp, we walked across the highway to the Bear Trap
Cafe for supper where we ate good food (vs. Dintymore Beef Stew) and talked
about the day. Then back to the campground for stories around the fire.
Powdered sugur donuts, or Bear Trap, for breakfast, then time to hit the road.
Lance headed for Walden and a return down the Poudre River canyon. Pete
went through Walden on his way to Willow Creek and Berthoud Passes. Doug
and Kathy went back over Snowy Range Pass on their way to check places in
Cheyenne. The rest of us went down WY-230 which runs through a large valley
full of ranches bordered by hills to the east and mountains to the west. Near
Cowdrey we went back north on CO-127 and WY-230 through the Medicine
Bow National Forest. A pretty ride with winding canyons on either end and a
plateau of forests in the middle. At Laramie we went south on US-287 and did a
little exploring of the Red Feathers Lakes area. From there we took a neat 10
mile gravel road that put us down in the Poudre River canyon where we had
plenty of time to enjoy the scenery while stuck behind Sunday afternoon traffic.

In summary, it was a terrific two-day riding / camping event highlighted by the
45 miles of WY-70 and the campground at Riverside. Requests are already in
for a variation of this trip next summer.

-- Randy Bishop, Littleton, Colorado

There has been a lot of snow in Colorado since mid-March, but for our first COG ride of 1998 we had sunny skies and 75 degrees. Nine of us, on eight Concours
and one Vulcan, met at the south edge of Denver for an easy ride on a pretty spring day. We went down US-8 through the Black Forest area, enjoying the views of Pikes Peak in the distance.  In Colorado Springs we cut through Garden of the Gods and stopped a Balanced Rock for a group photo and some motorcycle chatter. Carl and Valarie on another Concours joined us at lunch time for sandwiches and more good motorcycling conversation. Afterwards we headed north on I-25 for Monument and then west to Palmer Lake for a scenic ride on CO-105 up through the Perry Park area along the edge of the foothills. A very nice spring ride.
 
 

At the summit of Pikes Peak, Katharin Lee Bates was inspired to pen the lines to her most famous poem, "America the Beautiful." She was overwhelmed by the sights of vast, open skies, planted fields, and the majestic Rocky Mountains.