A group of mountain bikers rest atop Blackhawk Pass, as seen on Monday, July 29, 2024, which is the high point of Segment 26 of the Colorado Trail. Segment 26 takes riders from Bolam Pass Road to Hotel Draw Road over Blackhawk Pass, where the views of the central and northern San Juan Mountains are top notch. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)
Bikepacking or day-riding segments on the Colorado Trail provides a different experience than the traditional hiking experience along the 487-mile-long trail system from Denver to Durango.
Over the course of 14 days, I pedaled my way up and down multiple segments of the trail looking for interesting features, vistas, wildlife and people in July 2024. From high passes to heavily wooded foothills to open meadows and grassy mesas, the Colorado Trail is a unique system with a rich history and breath taking aura.
A group of mountain bikers rest atop Blackhawk Pass, as seen on Monday, July 29, 2024, which is the high point of Segment 26 of the Colorado Trail. Segment 26 takes riders from Bolam Pass Road to Hotel Draw Road over Blackhawk Pass, where the views of the central and northern San Juan Mountains are top notch. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Jonathan Ingraham rides his bike up Georgia Pass near Breckenridge on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (TomHellauertom.hellauer@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/9/74/9d6/9749d644-3b6b-11ed-b91d-37444d2bf7b7.f54b911252c540f1d61709edc4727a39.png)Strontia Springs Dam on the South Platte River, as seen Saturday, June 23, 2024, is one of the first highlights to experience along Segment 1 of the Colorado Trail that runs from Denver to Durango. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Pikes Peak, ‘America’s Mountain’, can be seen looking south along Segment 2 (South Platte River), of the Colorado Trail, one of several 14,000-foot-high peaks visible along the trail that runs from Denver to Durango. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)A young hiker leads her llama on a hike on Segment 25 of the Colorado Trail northwest of Molas Pass, Colorado, as seen Friday, July 26, 2024. Segment 25 travels approximately 20 miles east to west, with large sections of the trail above treeline with regular and beautiful views of the southern San Juan Mountains. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)The Colorado Trail’s Segment 8 travels through Camp Hale National Monument north of Leadville, as seen Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, including a passing near the former US Army’s 10th Mountain Division training facility’s munitions bunkers on the south side. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Mt. Antero is shrouded in rain and clouds during a rain storm Monday, July 22, 2024, west of Buena Vista, Colorado. Segment 14 of the Colorado Trail travels north to south in the foothills east of Mt. Antero and is a 20.8-mile long section of the 487-mile long trail system from Denver to Durango. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)A kayaker paddles his kayak in the Arkansas River, as seen from Chaffee County Road 371, Tuesday, July 23, 2024 along a stretch of the river north of Buena Vista, Colorado. Chaffee County Road 371 follows the Arkansas River for several miles and is considered one of the “bikepacking” or mountain biking detour routes of the Colorado Trail.Since bike riding is not allowed in wilderness areas, which the Colorado Trail passes through several, bike-safe detour routes exist along the route from Denver to Durango. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Rosalie Peak, right, Square Top Mountain and Mt. Logan line the Colorado skyline, as seen from an overlook along Little Scraggy Trail south of Buffalo Creek, Colorado. Little Scraggy Trail is part of the Colorado Trail system that runs from Denver to Durango and is segment three of the 500-plus mile trail through Colorado’s mountains. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)A group of mountain bikers descend southward from Blackhawk Pass on Segment 26 of the Colorado Trail Monday, July 29, 2024 after pedaling their way up from Bolam Pass earlier in the day. Segment 26 offers some of the best views and mountain bike riding on the Colorado Trail. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Stars appear in the northern night sky above Ponderosa Pines next to the East Fork of Hermosa Creek west of Purgatory Ski Resort, as seen Sunday, July 28, 2024. Hermosa Creek is one of the river drainages that flows through the southern San Juan Mountains and is near Segments 26 and 27 of the Colorado Trail trail system. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)“Soldierstone,” as seen Wednesday, July 24, 2024, is a 12-foot-tall polished stone memorial standing near Sargents Mesa along Segment 16 and 17 of the Colorado Trail in Saguache County, Colorado, has quotes in multiple languages on it and military ammo boxes and honors forgotten soldiers and civilians from the Vietnam War. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Dexter’s Cabin, one of several buildings at the Interlaken Historical Site, seen Wednesday, July 31, 2024, is a short detour off Segment 11 of the Colorado Trail on the south shores of Twin Lakes, and offers a unique look into Colorado’s Victorian- and mining-era past. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)A herd of Hereford cattle graze atop Sargents Mesa near Soldierstone on July 24, 2024. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Looking west toward the Sawatch Mountains from Twin Lakes Dam, as seen Wednesday, July 31, 2024, Segment 11 of the Colorado Trail and the Twin Lakes Trail share a section of the trail that circumnavigates Twin Lakes in Lake County, Colorado. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Two hikers ascend a section of the South Platte River Trail, which is Segment 2 of the Colorado Trail, on Saturday, June 29, 2024 southwest of Conifer, Colorado. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)A view of Lake Dillon from Segment 7 of the Colorado Trail Saturday, June 15, 2024. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)Jonathan Ingraham pushes his bike up Georgia Pass near Breckenridge, Colo. on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (TomHellauertom.hellauer@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/9/74/9d6/9749d644-3b6b-11ed-b91d-37444d2bf7b7.f54b911252c540f1d61709edc4727a39.png)Denver Gazette Digital Producer Jonathan Ingraham’s helmet dangles from his mountain bike with the northern massif of Perins Peak visible in the background Tuesday, July 30, 2024 northwest of Durango, Colorado while at Gudy’s Rest on Segment 28 of the Colorado Trail. (JonathanIngrahamDigital Strategist for Denver Gazettejonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.comhttps://gazette.rt.gw/content/tncms/avatars/0/41/725/041725b8-b694-11ec-a830-f7ddbdb2b1a2.fc0f5608a6f1144f64f080f771bd904d.png)
