Bicycling

1. Half-Century

Roads: Good
Type: Road
Bike Time: 3 to 4.5 hours Mancos- Dolores-Cortez-Mancos.

This very scenic 51 mile round-trip ride can be started anywhere along the route.

2. Mesa Verde National Park

Roads: Good
Type: Road
Bike Time: 4 to 6 hours- add 3 hours to see the ruins.

11.5 miles West of Mancos is the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, home of the largest collection of prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings.

3. Railroad Loop

Trails: Good
Type: Mountain
Bike Time: 2-3 hours.

This ride can be done as a 13.3 mile loop using both US Highway 160 and the dirt road that follows the old railroad grade, or an easy 7.7 mile ride with good parking places at the ends for two vehicles to shuttle.

4. Transfer Park/Windy Gap

Trails: Good (all on Forest Service roads)
Type: Mountain
Bike Time: 5 to 6 hours.

Spectacular views are provided near the campground entrance so bring your camera. The bike route begins just past the entrance in a beautiful Aspen forest stand and follows Forest Road 565 in an East/Northeast direction.

5. McPhee/House Creek

Trails/Roads: Good
Type: Mountain
Bike Time: 1 to 4 hours.

This area offers two bike route choices. The longer route (16 miles) starts and finishes at the campground; the shorter route (8 miles) begins 4 miles up the paved road from the campground where vehicles can be parked at a turnoff.

6. Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park

Trails: Good
Type: Mountain
Bike Time; 7 hours.

Trips into the Tribal Park are strictly controlled by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Bike tours can be arranged by calling the Tribal Park at 800-847-5485. If you are looking for a remote ride that companies a spectacular river valley with opportunities to experience archaeology and frequent views of wildlife, then this trip is well worth the permit fees.

7. Stoner Mesa Trail

Trails: Fair
Type: Mountain
Bike Time: 4.5 to 6 hours.

The trail passes through Aspen and Spruce forests and open meadows. In the larger meadows, the trail is harder to see, so watch closely for markers and blazes.

8. Cannonball Mesa- Archaeology Ruins Spur

Trails: Good with markers
Type: Mountain
Bike Time: 3 hours; allow more time to see the ruins.

This route, which is marked with bicycle emblem sign posts, combines mountain bike riding with opportunities to explore remote archaeological ruins abandoned by the Ancestral Puebloans around 1300 AD.

9. Cutthroat Castle Ruins

Trails: Good with markers
Type: Mountain
Bike Time: 5 hours; allow more time for visiting ruins.

This route is marked with bicycle emblem sign posts and offers picturesque canyon terrain/vegetation and remote archaeological sites.