Colorado Springs Bike Trails We Love
There are great Colorado Springs bike trails in the Colorado Springs park system. Because Colorado Springs is such an outdoor paradise, bike trails play an important part in the cities makeup. Palmer Park, Bear Creek Park, and Garden of the Gods and North Cheyenne Canon are great places to start.
Palmer Park
One of the best places to ride in Colorado Springs is Palmer Park. I love Palmer Park, Colorado Springs. Palmer Park was given as a gift to the city of Colorado Springs from General Palmer, the founder of the city.
My family goes there to hike. We can also take our dog there to hike if we want to. We also enjoy the many bike trails, the fantastic views, and the many incredible rock formations. It is also a wonderful place to simply take a drive. Located right in the middle of Colorado Springs, Palmer Park has activities for any taste.
Palmer Park has 25 miles of hiking trails, biking trails, and equestrian trails in its 740 acres. There are over 25 miles of roadways and trails in Palmer Park, so you can keep yourself busy for a long time.
You can find all levels of singletrack riding in Palmer Park. There are all kinds of technical levels of riding available. To describe all the trails would be a bit tough. Here’s how David Crowell describes it in Mountain Biking Colorado Springs:
If you were going to train an elite force of mountain biker, you could do the entire program here. Easy rolling trials, rim-wrecking drop-offs, steep climbs over step-like rocks, balance-beam boulders–you name it and Palmer Park has it.
For a map of the Palmer Park trails, click here for a pdf file or click here for an interactive map. I highly recommend David’s book if you are trying to learn about Colorado Springs bike trails. It’s one of the best resources out there.
North Cheyenne Cañon
I also love to ride in North Cheyenne Canyon. (Click for the map of North Cheyenne Cañon).
The great thing about North Cheyenne Canyon bike trails is that you are still really close to Colorado Springs, but you feel like you are a long way from town. And it is totally gorgeous.
A couple of trails to consider are:
Captain Jack’s
This is a Colorado Classic. It’s a 5.4-mile loop. This singletrack loop is perfect for a lunch-time ride. Ride clockwise to avoid running into someone. There are some tight turns and you can there are beautiful views of the canyon and Colorado Springs.
Take High Drive to Trail 665. Follow trail 665 until it joins with Gold Camp Road and ride back up Gold Camp road back to the parking lot at High Drive.
Buckhorn Loop
Instead of riding up High Drive to trail 665, head west on Gold Camp Road from the parking lot. You’ll see a trail heading off to your right. Follow the trail 667 back to High Road and then take High Road south back to the parking lot.
This is a 3.9-mile loop of singletrack and road riding.
Here’s the real secret to North Cheyenne Canyon, get out and give it a try. It’s a beautiful country and there is lot’s to explore. And it’s all a blast.