Boulder is much more of a hotspot for road biking, and it is common knowledge that if you want to ride with knobby tires you head elsewhere. Often this means a drive south on Colorado 93 into Jefferson County. This was my plan yesterday, as I wanted to finally check out the trails that are purported to have the most ‘flow’ around these parts: the hardpack of Centennial Cone.
The Destination
Centennial Cone Park is located west of the town of Golden, on the north side of Clear Creek Canyon. The park provides 16 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, which encircle the titular mountain, and is designed to offer a backcountry-type experience, which it most definitely achieves.
The land provides habitat to a range of animals, including elk and mountain lion, and is managed to ensure the continued use of the land by these species. For elk and deer in Centennial Cone, managed hunting is used to keep the herd populations in harmony with available habitat, to minimize the ill effects of urbanization on elk and deer, and to maintain historical migratory patterns. Hunting restrictions and open seasons vary year-to-year to best suit the changing populations.
There is also a seasonal trail closure during the elk calving period to ensure minimal disturbance by humans in a certain portion of the park. This closure eliminates the loop of the trail system, but the closure is mostly dirt roads, so there is minimal loss of singletrack, and a fun, long out-and-back ride is still possible.
Lots of the trails around here get a lot of use, so there are efforts to reduce user conflict. At Centennial Cone, there is an alternating use schedule to separate hikers and bikers on the weekends: even-numbered weekend dates allow mountain biking, while odd-numbered weekend dates are for hikers. (Equestrian use is allowed on any day and weekdays are open to all.)
The Ride
After the 45-minute drive from Boulder, I was caught up on the Broncos’ quarterback controversy from 104.3 The Fan, and eager to get pedaling. From the Mayhem Gulch parking lot off of Highway 6, I started up the connector trail to the main loop. I climbed away from Clear Creek and up into the pines.
 |
| Mayhem Gulch Trail |
After connecting to the main trail system (technically, the Mayhem Gulch parking lot is not in the park) I headed up Elk Range Trail. This is not actually a trail, but a well-maintained gravel road that occasionally passes through private property and is the trail that is closed during elk calving in the winter. Most of this 3.2-mile trail was a gradual uphill, but the last mile was mostly flat and had some downs, allowing for fast, big-ring pedal mashing; it was about as much fun as riding a gravel road can be.
 |
| Elk Range Trail with Centennial Cone in the distance |
It was along this trail I had my first encounter with a rattlesnake here in Colorado. Luckily he was easy to spot stretched out along the road as I was slowly climbing. After taking some pictures and waiting a few minutes, I decided he needed some encouragement to get out of the road, and two squirts of water later he slithered away. I was startled by how he instantly disappeared as he moved into the grass. He gave me a little rattle as I passed by, and I was weary of how many of his friends could be hidden in the grass as I made my way up and around Centennial Cone itself.
 |
| Only wildlife of the day |
At the top of Elk Range Trail there is another parking area, and the trail turns to singletrack. Smooth, sweet, fast, and flowy singletrack… The rest of the ride would be nearly ten miles of eye-watering, thigh-burning bliss. This is described as one of the least technical rides around, and I (with my limited local knowledge) would have to agree. There were a few rocky pitches to keep you on your toes, but nothing was too technical to be ridden. Though, I will admit, I didn’t clean it all. (This time.) Some of the trickiest maneuvers were the switchbacks, which required negotiating the hairpin turn while getting your bike over a waterbar without spinning out in the sand or letting the log slide your wheels out from under you.
 |
| One of the more technical sections |
This was a great ride and I will certainly be back. The drive time to get to the trailhead is a little long, but not horrible. I’m told that it is absolutely packed on the weekends though. It was a cloudy day for me, but the views were still fantastic. On the south side of the cone, you can occasionally catch a glimpse of US 6 and Clear Creek about 1000 feet below.
 |
| Travois Trail skirts the north side of Clear Creek Canyon |
According to my fancy-smanchy phone GPS app, I rode 17.14 miles and gained 2,938 feet over two and a half hours. Another fun day of exploring.
No comments:
Post a Comment