Colorado is the CDT’s true high country, with an average elevation on the FS/CDT route of 9800′. The sections coinciding with the Colorado Trail offers some of the CDT’s most enjoyable mountain biking, stunning alpine terrain, and some great towns where you can recharge your batteries and give your bike some TLC along the way.
The segment descriptions below correspond the segments shown on the full FS/CDT route map: https://caltopo.com/m/UU6AE1G
The Colorado section of the FS/CDT begins in Steamboat Springs. For the route description between the Wyoming/Colorado border and Steamboat Springs, see the Idaho and Wyoming Route page.
310 Rabbit Ears
After refreshing and refueling (and potentially rebuiding your bike) in Steamboat Springs, enjoy the delightful singletrack climb from Steamboat to Buffalo Pass. The 32 miles from Steamboat Springs to Highway 40 are mostly singletrack and efficient if unremarkable riding. From the highway it’s 18 miles or so of road and doubletrack before resuming singletrack again around Segment Mile 61. The ten miles on either side of Haystack Peak had the worst downed trees of any segment of my ride in 2025.
The 312 No Monkey Alt avoids many of these downed trees by taking jeep trails for a few miles.
Once above treeline, the trail up to Parkview Mountain (12, 275′) is indistinct at times but will feel great to move unimpeded by dead trees. The ride down Parkview is rowdy, with some neat views and decent camping options when you reach the ridge that connects down to the highway.
After crossing Highway 125, the trail becomes much more ridable for a pleasant five miles or so before hitting doubletrack and then easy miles out to Highway 34. Continue to Granby, or take the 313 High Lonesome alt skips Granby and connects to a short (~6 mile) segment of the CDT on the west side of the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
From Highway 34, it’s a quick ride into Graby (note: the Graby Post Office does not accept general delivery, though a full resupply is possible at Two Pines Supply in Granby—use Fraser or Winter Park for resupply boxes). The generally pleasant ride from Granby to Fraser and Winter Park takes longer than you might think, encompassing a mix of different trail types.
In Winter Park, treat yourself to a breakfast or lunch sandwich in a Kürtőskalács (a “chimney” shaped pastry) at Rollin’ Street Bakery.
320 Rollins Pass
From Winter Park, it’s a short ride on nice singletrack trail up to the Rollins Pass road.
The Rollins Pass road is a former railroad grade, offering very efficient pedaling at a steady 4% grade on both sides of the pass. The east side of the pass is closed to motor vehicles for a few miles before reconnecting to a notably bumpy dirt road, before climbing back up and over to Georgetown via a web of ATV trails. A short trail section at Segment Mile 43 (Mill Creek Ridge) is signed closed to bikes, but COTREX shows this segment used by this route is open until reaching the boundary of the wilderness area. (You’ll almost certainly be off your bike and pushing your bike up this steep climb regardless.) After this short climb it’s a fast, steep descent to Empire on ATV trails and a road.
From Empire, there’s an efficient connection to Georgetown over Empire Pass on the Union Trail. As of summer 2025 the trail is signed as closed (due to landslide damage), though presumably the trail will be repaired and officially reopened. It’s passable should you choose to go this way. The 321 Sure Thing alt avoids potentially encountering closed trail.
Georgetown is a perfectly charming mountain town. There’s a small market, a few good restaurants, and a number of hotels (a bit expensive) to rest and recover before Argentine Pass.
330 High Country
From Georgetown, the route climbs 4700′ (the biggest single climb of the route) on well graded jeep trails to Argintine Pass. Put on a good audiobook and settle in for a long but generally easy climb before a steep singletrack descent down the other side into Montezuma Basin.
From here, jeep trails (with a bit of mostly hike-a-bike singletrack) will bring you up to Santa Fe Peak (13,180′). The next 13 miles are continuously above 12,000′ and provide a great riding experience. The trail alternates between indistinguishable cairn track, jeep road, and fun singletrack.
Alternatively, save a few hours by taking the 331 Webster Pass alt, which skips some of the slower and less ridable sections while still providing a proper taste of the Colorado high alpine.
At Segment Mile 33 the trail joins the Colorado Trail (CT). After the preceeding long stretch of trail where bicycles seldom travel, you’ll immediately appreciate the bike-friendly character of the CT. You’ll ride two notably rocky sections before the trail crosses the Middle Fork of the Swan River, and then you’ll enjoy basically ideal singletrack all the way to Highway 9 near Breckenridge. (There are no services in the immediate vicinity of where the trail crosses Highway 9, but there’s a bus stop with frequent service into Breckenridge.)
The ride from Highway 9 to Copper Mountain is surprisingly rugged and steep. Expect to push your bike up much of the 8 mile climb and to ride your brakes down to Copper on the other side.
Copper Mountain offers a few restaurants and a gas station with a restaurant reputed to have good breakfast burritos.
After leaving Copper you’ll ride up the wide, glacially carved valley to the summit of Searle Pass. Soak in the views and say hello to the friendly marmots at the top before enjoying some 10/10 mountain biking on the fast, fun descent down to Camp Hale. After reaching the valley floor, the last 20 miles into Leadville are fairly unremarkable. From Leadville to Beuna Vista is about a day’s ride.
From Leadville there’s ten miles of road to the Mt. Elbert (Colorado’s highest peak) trailhead. The riding along the foothills of the Presidential Range is generally fast and fun singletrack. (For bonus points, climb an extra 4000′ up Mt. Elbert’s north ridge and descend its surprisigly ridable east ridge back to the route.) There’s ample free parking along the Arkansas River in the 12 miles or so before Buena Vista.
350 Monarch Pass
Buena Vista has great coffee shops, a good brewery (Eddyline), and a full service bike shop. These will be the last such amenities you’ll see until Silver City, NM, so make sure you’re bike’s in ship shape before rolling out of town.
This route segment has plenty of alpine riding, but the trail is mostly ridable and makes for fairly quick travel.
Eighteen miles from Buena Vista you’ll have the opportunity to stop for a soak at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. There’s also a gas station that serves pizza by the slice. Camping is restricted along Tincup Pass Road, but there are several campgrounds along the way ($18 / night).
There’s a small commercial outpost at the top of Monarch Pass where you can get a soda, beer, or ice cream (or sandwich if you happen to stop in while their kitchen is operating, typically until 4 pm).
At Segment Mile 99 the route diverts off from the CDT for a wilderness bypass. The next 120 miles are mostly road riding (except for a 25 mile stretch of high alpine riding in the next route segment).
370 Rio Grand Headwaters
Cathedral Ranch is a bikepacker oasis with affordable cabins, showers, and a fully stocked little store for bikepackers with almost anything you might need (stove fuel, dehydrated meals, a selection of energy bars to rival REI, and even a small selection of bicycle parts). Annette and Brad are wonderful hosts! There are cold drinks, ice cream, frozen burritos, and wifi. I suggest stopping (or staying) and picking up supplies to make it to South Pass City.
From Catehdral Ranch it’s a long but easy climb up to Spring Creek Pass. From here you can continue west on the main line route toward Stony Pass, or choose the 371 Snow Mesa alt to cut off a half day of riding. The main line route offers spectacular alpine riding with views of the high San Juans, before doubling back through the scenic Brewster Park.
Services in Creede and South Fork are largely limited to a couple of restaurants and hotels.
390 Cumbres Pass
The highway from South Fork to Wolf Creek Pass is fairly busy and has a somewhat inconsistent shoulder. It’s a full 20 miles of highway riding and a roughly 3500′ climb. Turning off the highway you’ll be back on singletrack and the CDT proper. You’ll ride across the top of Wolf Creek ski resort and a total of 18 miles or so of interesting singletrack before connecting to the GDMBR to divert around the South San Juan Wilderness. 60 miles of road riding will bring you to the top of Cumbres Pass and back to the CDT and singletrack. After three miles or so, you’ll cross the border into New Mexico. The next 90 miles are typical of New Mexico singletrack: not fast, but usually very ridable and pleasant.
The section of trail from Cumbres Pass to Ghost Ranch has soil that is high in clay content. A light rain won’t slow you down, but heavy rain will turn the soil into impassable death mud. Watch the forecast, and if there’s a likelihood of rain pack some extra food and be prepared to wait for things to dry out in the event of rain.
After reaching Highway 84, the final 20 miles into Abiquiu is easy. Water and snacks can be had at Ghost Ranch, where you can also send a resupply box, though I recommend just pushing on to Abiquiu.
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