This easy Boulder and Longmont gravel loop is a great beginner ride. Although it has a good amount of mileage, the elevation is fairly minimal, and the road surface along the route is great. The ride covers some of the classic Boulder gravel roads, like Crane Hollow Road, and it also includes some Longmont gravel and paved trails.
We had ridden on some parts of the Lobo gravel trail but never this far Northeast. The trail was in great condition and have very little traffic on it.
We rarely feel that we can completely relax while on a gravel ride because of the unknown terrain but this ride will truly allow you to chill out.
There are multiple opportunities to stop and enjoy the views. You go past Lagerman and Union reservoir and a few parks with playful sculptures that we stopped at and had some good laughs.
There weren’t any alarming lows but we noted two while riding:
East County Line Road just after Union Reservoir has no shoulder and cars are going fairly fast with steady traffic. (You are only on the road for 1 1/2 miles so it’s not horrible, but it’s also not the most comfortable.)
Crossing 107th when you are on Yellowstone road is a little sketchy. We had to wait a bit for a gap in the traffic to sneak across, and traffic was fast moving.
Do this ride if you want a pretty chill, mixed-surface, high mileage route with low elevation. (Rose was struggling with back pain and so were are limited in how much elevation we could do. This was a perfect ride that allowed us to get out and enjoy a ride, but also take it easy and be a little more gentle on the body.)
There are no bathrooms at the Lefthand Trailhead parking lot where we started, but if you want to take a trip down the single track trail, there is a bathroom at the Beech Shelter.
This might not be an ideal ride in the heat of summer but any other season it is great.
We parked at the Lefthand Trailhead parking lot.
Laura & Rose
Laura Karpinski and Rose Barcklow are the creators of Gravel Bike Adventures. Click on the About page to learn more about them.
