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Ride hard and relax….
The singletrack of the Durango Low Country tour will lead you to ask the question, “Does the riding ever end in Durango?” Well yes, it does. Eventually the snow flies, but until it does you just need to keep moving to lower altitudes to keep on riding. We’ve put together a collection of 5 great routes to get you on Durango’s trails early in the summer as Mother Nature starts to emerge from her winter slumber and keep you on them when the aspens turn and transform the trail to a bed of golden coins.
Our base camp for this tour will be Cascade Village. Tucked away in a quiet mountain setting, this village of private condo retreats features a flowing indoor/outdoor patio area complete with barbeques, a pool, and no fewer than three hot tubs. Each day after your ride we encourage you to grab a shower, soak in the hot tub, enjoy a therapeutic massage….or even all three! While you relax under the clear Rocky Mountain skies, let our guides fire up the BBQ for the night’s meal as well as clean and professionally tune your bike in anticipation of the next day’s adventure.
The Low Country tour is a little different than the High Country tour. Weather is typically more stable during June and September, so we can start a little later each morning. This gives us a chance to relax as the temps warm for our day’s adventure. Each day of the tour we usher you a world class ride and help you unwind in the cushy comfort of Cascade Village. “Ride hard and relax.”
Our staff will greet you at your gate at the Durango/La Plata County Airport, relieve you of your luggage, and bring you into town where your room at a downtown Durango hotel is waiting. Situated just a short walk from the historic downtown area and right on the Animas River, you are free to explore on your own as the staff make final preparations and take care of your fellow guests arriving throughout the day. Grab a sandwich and a beer on the patio at one of several local brewpubs, walk historic Main Street, or pick up some last minute supplies at our partner local bike shop.
We’ll check back in with you briefly in the evening to make sure that you are well situated, that your bike and all your gear are ready to roll, and that all your needs are being met.
The Hermosa Tours van will pick the group up at your hotel at 7:00AM sharp. Today’s ride starts in the Hermosa Creek drainage area behind Durango Mountain resort. From the top of Hotel Draw we’ll begin a pleasant traverse on the Colorado Trail. Stunning views of Blackhawk Pass to the north are seen early in the ride as are long views of the Needles Mountains and Weminuche Wilderness to the east. The trail tilts upward, climbing to the junction of Corral Draw, a lightly-trafficked trail featuring a 5 mile descent on a ribbon of singletrack into the Hermosa Creek drainage. After a quick ford of Hermosa Creek our guides will lead you south down the Hermosa Creek Trail. We’ll finish off the day with this true Durango classic. Like every day, we’ll be at the end of the trail waiting with refreshments and snacks. Once we’re all ready to roll, we’ll shuttle up to Cascade Village where you will find your luggage waiting for you in your condo, which will be your base camp for the week. Don’t forget to order your packed lunch for the next day from our Trail Menu!! Ride length is about 23 miles.
Fuel up with a tasty breakfast prepared for you at the Village café. We’ll first set out on pavement for a few miles to stretch our legs. You’ll be thankful we warmed up first – the climb up Elbert Creek Trail is challenging. It’s short and extremely beautiful…but challenging. Soon we will top out on the Hermosa Cliffs and stop for a breather and take in the epic views of the Weminuche Wilderness. After a quick traverse on a winding forest service road we’ll swing onto the Dutch Creek Trail. The first few miles of the Dutch Creek Trail are a mix of double track and forest service road, but it quickly turns to singletrack. The vistas from this first leg of singletrack are legendary. The Weminuche comes back into view on our left and the La Plata Mountains reveal themselves to our right. It’s a great place to stop for photos and to “soak it all in.” Hold on to your knickers – the “soak” is over and we’re headed downhill on one of the best descents in all Durango. The trail now hugs Dutch Creek itself, which we will cross many times as we weave through aspen groves, through open meadows and over technical root and rock. A final little climb spills us out onto the tail end of Hermosa Creek Trail and a smooth cruise back to the shuttle van. Ride length is about 20 miles.
Our route today is a Hermosa Tours special. We’ve spent countless days exploring “off the beaten path” trails that give our guests something different. The shuttle van will drop us off at a Colorado Trail junction along a remote forest service road. These first miles on the CT meander up and down with no major plunges or climbs, but as always we will be treated to long views; this time of an almost quilt-like canopy of pine and aspen covering rolling mountains and creek drainages. The view is awe inspiring during late September tours when the aspens turn. Our rolling traverse comes to an end and our downhill begins when we turn onto a primitive, little-known trail toward the Hermosa Creek drainage. While this trail is indeed primitive, Hermosa Tours always takes the time to clear and maintain the trails we tour, so you always get a prime singletrack experience. This descent changes many times along its length – we’ll race through thick pine forest, enchanting aspen groves, grassy meadows and along a pleasant mountain creek. Eventually we will connect with the Hermosa Creek Trail, but head north this time. The climbing is very gentle and the atmosphere of Hermosa Creek at this end is superb. High canyon walls and rocky cliffs surround us everywhere as we pedal along the creek and back to the waiting shuttle van. Ride length is about 20 miles.
Kennebec Pass to Durango….a 5000 foot descent….a true Durango classic. Weather permitting, this ride starts at tree line and immediately sends you on a thrill ride down narrow singletrack hugging the mountain side. After regrouping at the Champion Venture Road crossing (our alternate start if snow is an issue), the downhill bonanza continues through thick, forested singletrack, past a gorgeous waterfall and finally onto the rocky singletrack cutting through the lush vegetation alongside Junction Creek. Wide-eyed and grinning, we’ll regroup again at the Wall’s Gulch Bridge and start a hefty climb away from Junction Creek….sorry, it can’t ALL be downhill!! The top of the climb makes for a great snack location. Refueled, we’ll take our time traversing up and down on narrow singletrack through a variety of aspen and pine forest. The beauty of the singletrack in this area is the stuff of which magazine photo spreads are made. Finally we’ll reach what the locals call “High Point”, named for its status as a turn around for riders climbing up from Durango. They climb, we descend. The downhill buzz continues for another 2500 feet of great Colorado Trail singletrack to the Junction Creek Trailhead, the southern terminus of the Colorado Trail. Ride length is about 20-25 miles.
The Townie Ride. Sure, Durango is famous for its many backcountry trails, but locals know that a spider web of excellent routes is right in and around town. We’ve found that this is a great way to leave a lasting impression on our guests – live a day in the life of a Durango mountain biker. We’ll start with a breakfast at the area cycling hive, Bread, where there’s a good chance of spotting one of Durango’s many local pros. This bakery serves up a delicious variety of croissants, bagels, cookies, breads, muffins and many more aromatic treats. Once we’ve had our fill and crammed our packs with extra goodies for the ride we’ll climb up the tight singletrack of two new connector trails recently constructed by the local advocacy group, Trails 2000 (we are a proud member and contributor). The top of this climb rewards us with a panoramic view of Durango, the Animas River Valley and the San Juan Mountains. The terrain here is high desert, which you will certainly notice as you snake through junipers and pinon pines. Soon we’ll turn south into the Telegraph Trail System, called Horse Gulch by the locals; a trail system IMBA designated an “IMBA Epic.” The Telegraph Trail System includes over 30 miles of singletrack for us to choose from, but rather than outline our route in advance we like to gauge the mood of the group and pick a few loops to please everyone. We’ll end our ride by way of the Animas River Trail, a paved pathway, or maybe we’ll swing back onto the Rim Trail and loop around Fort Lewis College and down Chapman Hill, the site of many legendary mountain bike races. Again, let’s just relax and see what we’re up for that day. Either way, we’ll grab some lunch at Steamworks Brewery and savor that feeling of being a local Durangoan.
After a great week of riding, we love to celebrate the end of the trip with a group dinner in town. Take a few hours to relax and clean up, then we’ll meet at the hotel to stroll over to our closing dinner celebration. This is a great time for everyone to reflect on their experiences and tell war stories accumulated from the many great miles of singletrack. Hermosa Tours thank our guests tonight with some goofy awards and some unique gift bags. Cheers!
If you are leaving the next day Hermosa Tours will shuttle you to the airport for your flight home.
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