Part 1: Colorado Lift-Accessed Mountain Biking At Four Resorts Above Denver
Located less than 100 highway miles from metro Denver, four Colorado resorts spin MTB-equipped lifts during the summer to deliver mountain bikers to some of the most spectacular rides in the Rockies.
Copper Mountain lays out its downhill mountain biking trail map on the west side of the mountain. American Eagle six-pack runs daily out of Central Village, while the shorter Woodward Express spins Fridays through Sundays above West Village.
Copper's 18 miles of single-track and 1,482 feet of vertical lean heavily toward easier routes, with three top-to-base blue runs and a pair of green runs. This season, Copper has opened its first long (1.4 miles) black run Black Mambo, off D-1 service road.
The Woodward's terrain park goes summer off Woodward Express, and summer action sports camps operate out of main base.
Winter Park's Trestle Park is one of the largest mountain bike parks in the West. It covers most of Winter Park's 3,000 in-bound acres. Open daily, the Gondola carries up to 10,700 feet of elevation to upper mountain. A pair of high-speeds dedicated to bikers help keep things moving on upper mountain. On Fridays and Saturdays, lifts run until 6:30 p.m.
The MTB trail map has more than 40 miles of gravity single-track trails dropping 2,680 feet. Freeride trails dominate with 13 blacks, 16 blue and blue-blacks, and three greens, each with both natural and constructed features. Technical bikers get five greens, four blue/blacks and nine purely black trails to choose from. The most demanding Pro Line requires a special pass.
At Keystone, side-by-side Summit Express and River Run Gondola operate Thursdays through Mondays this summer. Advanced riders feast on the trail menu here. Ten of 15 diamond and double-diamond routes bounce down raw, technical terrain -- and the others require jumping skills.
Two of four blues also rated technical with jumps. And even half of the top-to-bottom linked green route give riders a chance for some air.
Neighbor Breckenridge focuses all its lift-assisted MTB action of Peak 8 and the Colorado Super Chair high-speed. Riders can park at the main base and take the BreckConnect gondola up to the trails.
Beginners need not apply at Breck Bike Park: All dozen named routes down rate blue or black. They start below the eponymous Peak 8 (13,000 feet elevation). With more than 3,000 feet of vertical drop, top-to-bottom intermediate Edge-Swinger cover four miles, as does challenging Game Trail on the black side of the ledger.
