My friend, Mikaela Koch, is the mastermind behind this route. If you find this route a little devilish, you know who to blame. 😉
If you like the challenge of steep climbs, you will love this route! (If you don't, this route is definitely not for you!) The large majority of the five big uphill climbs are on non-technical, smooth dirt, making the difficulty primarily about the grade and length rather than skillful handling of as opposed uphill terrain.
The first of the climbs is the steepest and about 3 miles in length with an average grade of 10.5%. The other climbs are slightly more gradual but expect to have little pitches of 10-15% on all of them.
Car traffic was low and the drivers we did encounter were exceptionally friendly- slowing down significantly, even pulling over or waiting to pass. (So nice!!)
Tolland Road is so delightfully smooth and seems absolutely dreamy after you have just experienced the rough terrain of Mammoth Gulch. Not only is the surface nice, but you are biking along the picturesque South Boulder Creek and the active railroad tracks that connect Denver to the other side of the Continental Divide at Winter Park. It is one of my favorite places to bike in this area of Colorado!
The scenery is incredible throughout the ride, but it's especially panoramic at the top of Elk Park Road (mile 17), where you might want to pause and take it all in.
The other truly breathtaking place is the Virginia Canyon descent which is known locally as the "Oh My God Road". While you are flying back down to Idaho Springs, you'll be getting stunning views when it's possible to take your eyes off the road.
Mammoth Gulch, which is the nearly 3-mile downhill section from mile 18-20.8, is a necessary evil to make this route a loop. It is chunky and lumpy and bumpy and steep. Sometimes, there are no "good lines" to take and your upper body will take a beating. While doable on a gravel bike with wide tires and low tire pressure, it's far from comfortable.. (It was slow going and I had to stop several times just to give my hands a break from holding the breaks and to recover my nerves.)
While the overwhelming majority of the uphill is non-technical, there is a section of the second climb where the surface was slightly rocky and loose on two steep pitches. As long as you can keep you momentum and choose a good line, you can get up, but if you stop, you will likely have to hike-a-bike the rest of the way to the top.
We had planned to stop in Rollinsville to get water and snacks, but all the restaurants and stores were closed on a Wednesday before noon. (There is a coffee shop and pizza place, but check for open hours to plan accordingly.)
Do this ride if you want a full day of adventure that includes multiple steep, challenging climbs, together with technical descents- all on quiet gravel just outside of Idaho Springs.
We started this ride from the Ranger Station in Idaho Springs. This is on the south side of the interstate. On the other side of the interstate where restaurants and shops are, you will also find parking, but those are paid lots and parking in the Ranger Station is free.
There is plenty to choose from if you are looking for pre or post-ride food in Idaho Springs.
We have enjoyed and can recommend coffee from The Frothy Cup, pastries from Edelweiss European Bakery and food/beer from Westbound and Down.
There are a few bathrooms/port-a-potties along the way but otherwise not many reliable services.
As mentioned above, there IS a general store and a restaurant in Rollinsville (approximately mile 25.5), but when we biked through on a Wednesday morning around 11:00, absolutely everything was closed. If you plan on using that as a refueling place, make sure you check business hours.
Central City also has possibilities (approximately mile 40). You'll bike right past Bravo Italiano Caffè 42, which is a cafe and specialty grocery, but again, you'll want to check the hours they're open.
You should plan to bring enough food and water for the whole trip. A portable water filter would be perfect to take along as you are very often biking near natural water sources.
Public bathrooms can be found at miles: 8.75, 10.3 (Chase Gulch Reservoir), 25.76 (Rollinsville) and 36.8 (Hidden Treasure Trailhead).
Laura Karpinski
I got a bike as a young child and quickly set off making trips up and down the driveway then loops around my neighborhood, but I fell away from the joy of cycling as more and more of my free time was occupied by ballet training (around age 10). It wasn’t until I gave up my professional dancing career and moved to Colorado in 2000 that I began cycling seriously.
From infancy, and well into my late 20’s, I suffered from exercise-induced asthma and was afraid of cardio activities that made me wheeze. If my asthma was triggered by an intense activity, I was advised to stop immediately and use an inhaler.
I was into yoga and Pilates back in 2000 (Still am today!), so when one of my friends suggested we go to a spin/yoga class (30 min of spin, followed by 30 min of yoga), I was game to at least try something new. Even though I had trouble breathing in the classes, the safety of an indoor spin class gave be the ability to choose how hard to push myself, and at just 30 min, I slowly learned to tolerate the stress on my lungs. The fact that the spinning was followed by yoga gave me space to work with calming my thoughts and my head which said: “I can’t do this!”. As I got stronger and more confident and my cardio endurance increased, my asthma problems became less and less, and therefore, my willingness to try more adventurous and strenuous activities increased! I went from seeing cyclists biking up Lookout Mountain in Golden, CO and thinking, “they are crazy!”, to, “that looks kind of fun and I wonder if I can do that?”. And then I bought a bike, joined a club and tried biking up that mountain! My Asthma is nearly non-existent and I have been hooked on outdoor biking ever since.
I currently live in downtown Denver and have been car-free for about 10 years, typically biking 7,000+ miles a year between commuting, road riding and gravel bike adventuring. I have been a member of Naked Women’s Racing Team, and Colorado Women’s Cycling Project.
I teach Pilates and Yoga for a living and have been doing it for over 15 years. Just this year, I went out on my own and began a private-practice Pilates Studio called Align.Move.Breathe. I am a self-proclaimed “body nerd”, constantly reading, attending continuing education workshops and learning as much as I can about movement, bio-mechanics, alignment, anatomy and Ideokenesis.
I love to teach my clients how to relax and have fun with all movement, as well as have new and positive experiences with their bodies while gaining strength and flexibility in body, mind, and spirit. I strongly believe in both Pilates and Yoga as safe, supportive, and healing practices which can profoundly transform one’s every-day life!
If you are in the Denver area and interested in the intersection of biking and Pilates or Yoga, contact me at align.move.breathe@gmail.com.
Laura’s favorite Gravel Route: There are so many great rides it is REALLY hard to decide, but if there was one ride I would do over and over, it would be Four Mile Canyon and Switzerland Trail to Sugarloaf. It’s quiet, beautiful, challenging and fun!
Laura’s Gravel Bike: Rodeo Adventure Lab's Titanium Flaanimal 5.0 custom build with SRAM Force AXS 1x12 mullet (10-50 cassette) and Panaracer GravelKing SK+ 700×38C tires.
