Colorado 2010

We have returned to Frisco, Colorado, for the month of August. We've been having afternoon and evening showers but have still managed to get in some cycling. We've learned over the years that wherever you stay in Summit County, the bike path will take you through Frisco; whether you are riding to Breckenridge, Keystone, around Lake Dillon, or to Copper Mountain or Vail.

Our first day, we rode up to Keystone and over Swan Mountain Rd back to Frisco. We decided that was not too hard on us so the next day we ventured on and rode up to Vail Pass. Whew! That was a test for our legs in this high altitude. The photo to the right was taken from the bike trail around Lake Dillon.

The next couple days consisted of rides which we had not done before. We drove to Carbondale, 13 miles south of Glenwood Springs, and rode the Rio Grande Trail to Woody Creek Tavern and back. This bike path (pictured left) is actually 42 miles long and goes from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. It is slightly uphill on the way to Aspen which makes for a nice return trip back....downhill.

Our next ride took us to Leadville and around Turquoise Lake (pictured right). This was only about 25 miles but it consisted of several long and challenging uphills and some fast downhills. The scenery was beautiful. We finished just ahead of the heavy rain over the lake. Back in town, we lunched at the Tennessee Pass Cafe which fulfilled its reputation as being one of the best cafes in Leadville.


About an hour's drive west of Frisco is the Dotsero/Glenwood Canyon trailhead (exit 133). Hop on the recreation path which follows alongside parts of I-70 and the Colorado River and ride for about 16 miles into Glenwood Springs. Once in Glenwood Springs, explore the area or partake of the Hot Springs before heading back. Of course, you can always drive the additional miles into Glenwood Springs and start from there. This is a relatively flat trail with only a couple of short climbs near Glenwood Springs. Everytime we have ridden this route, we have seen lots of people kayaking and rafting the river. (Glenwood Canyon ride pictured left)


Other rides in the area that we enjoy include riding to Keystone and going up to the little town of Montezuma, pop. 60. It's a 5 mile climb out of Keystone and a fast downhill back. The most popular ride for tourists is probably Frisco to Breckenridge and back, followed by the ride around Lake Dillon. The new Swan Mtn Rec Path from Summit Cove takes us to the top of Sapphire Point. Once on top, however, we must take the 2-mile steep and curvy road down to the Breckenridge bike path. One of our favorite rides is Frisco to Copper Mountain and on up to Vail Pass; 10 miles slight uphill to Copper Mtn and another 5 steeper miles to Vail Pass. Here we may either ride back 15 miles downhill to Frisco or continue on to Vail Village (15 miles downhill). But beware, the ride back up from Vail Village is challenging to say the least.

Summit County includes the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Copper Mountain, Dillon, Silverthorne, and Keystone. There is always something going on in one or more of these towns every weekend and some weekdays. Our first week here, we took in the BBQ at the Summit which was a lot of fun with music, food, drinks, and roasted corn on the cob. On Fridays, we enjoy going to the Dillon Farmers Market for some shopping and, of course, lunch. Frisco has Music on Main on Thursday evenings and a weekend Art & Music Festival once a month. We've enjoyed the Dillon Summer Concert Series on occasion which is every Saturday evening at the Marina. One of our particular favorites has been the Nacho Men. Unfortunately, we will miss their performance this year. Keystone and Copper Mountain have similar events throughout the summer.

Friday evenings in Keystone, the gondola rides to the top of the mountain are FREE. We like anything that is FREE. Of course, we finish the evening with 2-for-1 appetizers (including nachos) and $3 draft beers at one of the restaurants in Keystone's River Run Village. You can also catch the chairlift in Copper Mountain for free during the day. Thursday thru Saturday evenings, the Vail Gondola is FREE.

We are starting our fourth week here and we are just now doing our first hike. The Mayflower Gulch trail begins on an old ore wagon road and may be shared with jeeps and mountain bikers. On a moderate climb through evergreen forest, you see Mayflower Creek and its adjacent wetlands on the left. Soon signs of Mayflower Gulch's beehive mining history appear. After a little over a mile and a half, we see the Boston mine camp (pictured right) which once occupied this splendid setting. Now its ruined log boardinghouse and cabins slowly sink into the meadow.

Later in the week, we hiked the McCollough Gulch trail just south of Breckenridge. This hike was an intermediate hike with lots of waterfalls near the top. A little further up the trail is a calm lake with crystal clear water. Although this hike was only a little over 3 1/2 miles in total, it took us close to 3 hours. Our legs will most likely be very sore tomorrow since we haven't been doing many hikes this year.

We love this part of the country ..... the mountain scenery, the temperatures, the biking and hiking trails, the people, everything. This is a very affordable area for a vacation and there is something for all ages here. We highly recommend it.

On the way home, we decided to take a detour and drive down to the Durango area. On the way, we stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The following day we drove to Mesa Verde National Park and toured the Pueblo cliff dwellings. Both sights were well worth the extra time.

Be sure to click on our Colorado 2010 link on the right side of the page for more pics of this year's Colorado trip. And for more about cycling in Summit County and the surrounding areas, check out our Colorado Trip in 2006 in the archives.