This was our third ride from the Trinidad area. We devised this Burro Canyon gravel route with inspiration from Juan Delaroca’s Explore Las Animas website together with help from Colorado Gravel Roads website.
Watch Juan’s “The Far Quarter” movie trailer. The film explores the past, present, and future of rural Colorado through the lens of gravel cycling!
This is also a great training ride for LifeTime's The Rad Dirt Fest which takes place in Trinidad in the Fall each year.
The Burro Canyon dirt road was remarkable! As you are biking, you will have views of the Spanish Peaks, extremely old house dwellings that take you back in time and intriguing land formations that made use want to understand geology better.
The condition of Burro Canyon dirt road was also terrific. The road is well packed with very few washboards.The 10-mile climb up Burro Canyon was mild with an average grade around 2%. This makes it an approachable climb for any rider.
Normally dogs on dirt roads totally terrify Rose, but we actually encountered a very friendly Husky that escorted us for about 5 miles along the road. He was trucking along at 15 mph nearly the whole way! (We hope he got home safe.)
Highway of the Legends (CO 12) is a two-lane highway with a fairly large shoulder, but vehicles are still going 50 mph which isn’t our favorite.
County road 57.7 descending into Cokedale had more pavement than we had anticipated based on Colorado Gravel Roads map (but it was still very quiet with great scenery).
Do this ride if you are in Trinidad and want to get away from the plains and into the mountains for some climbing on remote roads.
A reminder that quality eye wear is a must when you gravel bike. Rocks are constantly flying up and our glasses have saved our eyes a few times.
*If we were just rating the enjoyability of the gravel sections (minus the paved highway section), and had started and finished the ride in Cokedale, we would have easily given this route 4 stars.
Visit a convenient store for water and bathroom in the town of Trinidad if needed since there really aren’t any places along the route to refuel or use the restroom.
We started this ride from the AirBnB we were staying at, but nearby Kit Carson Park is a good alternative. (Or if you want to avoid the highway and shorten the mileage we would recommend starting in Cokedale.)
Laura & Rose
Laura Karpinski and Rose Barcklow are the creators of Gravel Bike Adventures. Click on the About page to learn more about them.
