Hello Roaring Fork riders,
Right now, more than ever, the best trail is the one you can ride to from your door.
Unfortunately, if you live upvalley from Carbondale, that trail is either under snow or closed or both.
Even if you can ride to the only open and trail in the valley – Red Hill – chances are it’ll be packed with others trying to do the same.
So what is a trail junkie gonna do to get some dirt under their knobbies? We recommend to either wait it out until many seasonal wildlife closures open on April 16th – or hit the trail early or late in the day.
Here is a short list of what local trails are open now and might be dry enough to ride if the sun gets a chance to dry out the lastest precipitation:
– All of the open trails on the front side of Red Hill (Elk Traverse and beyond are closed until April 16 – please respect all closures)
– Prince Creek: Lower trails are still muddy. Ginormous and Chrismas Tree still have a few large snow patches. With plenty of sun and no snow/rain they could be good to go later this weekend. (Upper Prince Creek – gated trails beyond South Porcupine and beyond – will open April 16 – please respect all closures)
– Wulfson: All trails are open but may be wet, muddy, icy, or snow covered. Stevie Bob trail is probably the first to dry out in the Wulfson network.
Riders living in New Castle can hit Medaris, Prendergast, and the flow trails however Stairway to Heaven and the Colorow trails have a seasonal wildlife closure ending April 15.
The Paths Option:
Big props to Pitkin County Open Space and Trails for plowing Brush Creek, Rio Grande, AspenMass and Crystal bike paths. While it’s not dirt, its still riding. Please be careful as condtions can be icy and treacherous.
The Virtual Option:
Typically, with open and dry local trail milage as limited as it is now, we would recommend traveling West to Fruita and beyond. However due to Colorado’s statewide Stay-at-Home order, traveling to recreate is not cool. But if you need that Fruita Fix, we found some free online training videos posted on YouTube that can help you at least pretend you’re riding the Loma Loops.
Please stay safe this weekend and please Shred it – don’t spread it!
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