You’ve been to Moab, that hip, happening scene in the red rock desert, with more mountain bikers than lizards. You’ve fought the crowds on the trails around your home, hunting for parking spots as the sun scorched the blacktop. You’ve even taken long weekends to exotic locales, battling the credit card blues for tiny hotel rooms at VIP prices to find a stretch of singletrack to call your own. In other words, you’ve worked hard to earn your singletrack stripes, paid your dues and suffered with the best of them. Suffer no more. You don’t have to fight the crowds to find singletrack salvation in the Rocky Mountains, you just have to know where to look for your bliss. Here are a few of our favorite lesser known spots. Each offers different types of riding, in diverse environments ranging from lush aspen forests to slickrock deserts. But despite their diversity, they all have something in common, they’re enough off the beaten path that you’ll never have to worry about finding singletrack solitude—or a parking space—again.

Whazzup Doc? A mix of smooth singletrack, technical challenges and epic ride potential, Rabbit Valley is the least crowded option in Fruita.

rabbit valley
Colorado/Utah
Just east of the Colorado/Utah border, the Rabbit Valley area has long attracted dirt bikers and ATVers to the high desert. It’s now becoming a mountain biking hot spot simply because it’s not controlled, coddled or costly. Thus, while you may have to hear the engines and smell the exhaust of the dirt bikers at the campsite next to you, they’ll also probably share their cold beer (hey, they are on two wheels too). You’ll see more people riding here than, say, the Abajo Mountains (see below), but that’s no reason to avoid Rabbit Valley. In fact, during weekdays the trails are deserted and quiet, all the more reason to make this the first stop on your next road trip while timing your departure for a Friday to move to less traveled areas. There’s also ample riding here, courtesy of the local biking community in nearby Fruita. Easy singletrack like Trails 4 and 5 are perfect for beginners, while advanced riders will appreciate new developments like the Western Rim Trail, an 18-mile loop that features sweet desert singletrack and fantastic views of the Colorado River or the ripping singletrack of Zion Curtain, a 20-mile ride. Check out Rabbit Valley West’s trails including the Westwater Mesa/Overlook trail, where you can combine a series of loops to go as long and as hard as you’d like. The well marked paths allow for plenty of creativity, but watch out, there’s also plenty of sand that will sap your motivation and suck the life out of your legs if you forget to put a few miles in before testing yourself in this playground.
Signature Ride: Western Rim
Camping: Pick a spot, any spot.
Local Bike Shop: Over the Edge Sports (202 East Aspen Avenue, Fruita; 970-858-7220; otesports.com)
More Info: Bob D’Antonio’s Mountain Biking Grand Junction and Fruita (Falcon Press) features the beta on 22 rides in the Fruita area including Rabbit Valley.

Rabbit Valley

the abajo mountains
Utah
Too far south and way too quiet for the Moab crowd, Monticello sits at the base of the Abajo (or Blue) Mountains. This small range features a variety of 4×4 roads, trails and tracks that climb from the desert into the peaks, the tallest of which, Abajo, stands at 11,360 feet. Monticello’s 7,066-foot elevation, means that it’s possible to ride comfortably here even in the scorching haet of mid-summer—but plan on being challenged. The better rides feature steep singletrack climbs, technical descents and enough elevation gain to make you puke. That doesn’t mean the riding is a complete sufferfest: there’s plenty of mellow action too, including the option to use car shuttles on some of the longer rides. But if you want to taste the best that the Blues have to offer, you better be ready to earn it. Take the Shay Ridge Trail, which tops out at approximately 11,000 feet, high enough to leave even strong riders gasping. Or Trail 20, a 50-mile slog that was created by dirt bikers but which also gives those beasts who thought Shay was too easy the opportunity to test themselves. For the rest of us, there’s a variety of singletrack options as well as easy cruisers like Geyser Pass road, which crosses the range. Throw in the opportunity to ride from the top of the Blues into the desert environment of Indian Creek and Utah Highway 211, the southeast entrance to the Needles District of Canyonlands Park, (use a car shuttle for this one) and you have an area that combines a lack of people with rich opportunities to explore—something that’s becoming rare in this day and age.
Signature Ride: Shay Ridge
Camping: Dalton Springs (USFS) or find your own on BLM land.
Local Bike Shop: Good luck in Monticello. Try Chile Pepper in Moab (702 South Main Street; 4350-259-4688; chilebikes.com)
More Info: Moab-Monticello Ranger District; 496 E. Central, Monticello; 435-587-2041

Going all in on Carbondale’s Monte Carlo trail.

carbondale
Colorado
With its community of core athletes,Carbondale scores big when it comes to superb riding—old mining roads, singletrack and even a paved bike path that takes you all the way to Aspen. The trails here feature aspen glades, spruce forests and sagebrush covered hills, and the area’s rich mining history has left a legacy of old roads, some of which, like the Montezuma Basin Road (which features a 3,000 ft elevation gain in just under five miles), are steep and high enough to challenge the world’s best riders (Lance anyone?). Or try the East section of the Government Trail, which crosses Tiehack, Buttermilk and Snowmass Ski Areas and which features a 9.8 miles of mostly singletrack and 1,400 feet of elevation gain. Other highlights include the West section of the Government Trail, one of the most challenging rides in the Carbondale area and the Ragged Mountain trail, a 19 mile epic that drops 2,000 feet in elevation and passes through the largest aspen grove in the world. Head to Red Hill for 15 miles of singletrack makes for loops where the locals may be training. On The Crown, you can head up “Inny” and down “Outty” for singletrack or brave the luge-like downhills of Father and Ginormous. While not as well known as Red Hill, the Prince Creek trails are also worth finding.
Signature Ride: Ragged Mountain Trail
Camping: Avalanche Creek (USFS)
Local Bike Shop: Ute City Cycles, 0580 Highway 133, Carbondale, CO, 970-963-2500
More Info: carbondale.com

Breck’s Epic You can punish yourself on the six-day stage race or just explore it at your own pace.

breckenridge
Colorado
Breck has long been a cycling hotbed, with the locals ditching their skis and boards for the singletrack as soon as they can. Add in old mining roads and a tourist based economy powered by recreation and you have a special slice of the singletrack life that’s within easy driving distance of the Front Range (not to mention that it’s nice and cool up there in July). Trails for all abilities abound, but the hardcore will want to attempt riding the Colorado Trail from Kenosha Pass to Breckenridge over Georgia Pass. The descent from the top of the pass encompasses some of the best singletrack found on the Colorado Trail, and is ample reward for the three plus hour climb over the top. For the rest of us, the Flume Loops offer the chance to connect singletrack in various permutations right outside of town to catch an easy singletrack buzz. True freaks can sign up for the six-stage, 240-mile, 37,000-veritcal Breck Epic (brekepic.com) race in August.
Signature Ride: West Ridge/Swan Valley on the Colorado Trail
Camping: Peak One (USFS)
Local Bike Shop: Avalanche Sports; 540 South Main Street, Breckenridge; 970-453-1461; av-sports.com
More Info: gobreck.com

Alpine style on the Breck Epic.

BEST OF THE REST
Twin Lakes Loop
(Twin Lakes, CO)
This winding singletrack loop around Twin Lakes includes a history lesson at Inter-laken, an abandoned summer resort town founded in the late 1800’s.

High Lonesome
(Winter Park, CO)
Winter Park Ski Area has made a huge investment in mountain biking trails, but the local gem remains High Lonesome.

Indian Creek
(Waterton Canyon, CO)
One of the Front Range’s finest gems, this ride takes in portions of the Colorado Trail.

Happy Jack/Pole Mountain
(Laramie, WY)
Go north, young man, and find solitude and singletrack Wyoming style.

Salt Wash/Sovergn
(Moab, UT)
Yes, you can leave the crowds behind in Moab. Salt Wash is a trip back in time, before everyone and their brother hit Utah with their mountain bikes.

Prospect Trail
(Telluride, CO)
Telluride offers plenty of riding, but locals keep coming back to this sweet slice of singletrack Heaven in the San Juans.

The wind doesn’t like us. It pelts us with icy pellets of snow. It tries to push us over. It tears at our skis, balanced on our shoulders as we scrape across icy scree punctuated with tufts of tundra. The wind owns this ridge. And we are trespassing. But this same wind is about to show us some love. On the lee side of the mountain, a big, classic line called The Professor is catching what the wind is ripping off of this ridge. The Professor is filled with cream. So we straggle across the ridge, blown sideways like ptarmigans and head for the untracked powder.

The Professor is merely one line choice among thousands off of Loveland Pass. Today, though, it’s a superhighway. An autobahn filled with knee-deep fluff straight down to Araphahoe Basin’s Pallavicini lift. And it’s the first real skiing we’ll do as part of the Colorado Interconnect, a day long epic that links three of the state’s ski areas and comprises superlative skiing, big above treeline lines and some grueling climbs.

All You Need Is Love: Will Spilo reaches out and touches pristine powder on Loveland Pass.

The Colorado Interconnect isn’t as well known as its Utah little sister. In Utah, the close proximity of resorts allows for relatively painless tours. In fact, the Utah Interconnect is so easy that while cavemen can’t do it (the loincloths leave something to be desired), lower intermediates certainly can. That’s why when in Utah, you can book a guide (or go yourself) and link Park City to Brighton or Solitude and then drop over to Alta and Snowbird without so much as breaking a sweat. Not so on the big, mean brother of the Utah Interconnect: The Colorado Interconnect. There are no guides to take you on this tour. The elevations are higher and the terrain and route-finding trickier. Cavemen and intermediates should definitely stay at home.

But for those with solid skiing and snowboarding skills, avalanche gear and a sense of adventure, the Colorado Interconnect is worth the effort. The tour includes Loveland ski area, Arapahoe Basin and Keystone Resort. In between, you get to ski Loveland Pass and Arapahoe Basin’s backcountry. You can start at either Keystone or Loveland, and in both cases lifts help ease the pain of gaining early vertical—but that doesn’t mean you won’t hike. However, the hiking is worth it and the pain can be lessened by throwing in a hitchhike to the top of Loveland Pass if you start from Keystone, or getting lucky and catching a tow from a snowmobile in Montezuma basin when you’re heading for Keystone. Arapahoe Basin’s new Montezuma Bowl lift also eases the pain for those heading to Loveland. In fact, the addition of this lift as well as recent expansions to Keystone have made the Colorado Interconnect less of a sufferfest and substantially more accessible.

The suffering starts for us at the top of Loveland’s Chair 1. It’s here that we head out the backcountry gate hidden behind the patrol shack at the top of the lift for the Continental Divide.

Deep Thoughts: Chris Albers floats through A-Basin backcountry en route to Montezuma.

Soon, we have to make our first decision. Do we drop in directly behind the ski area and follow the mellow pitch down to the popular hitchhiking point on Highway 6 and catch a ride to the top before skiing down to Arapahoe Basin?  Or do we earn our turns by touring across and around the bowl on the ridge to the top of powder-heavy runs? Is there really a choice? We choose the latter and get rewarded by perfect effortless powder. The run spits us out directly across the highway from Arapahoe Basin.

One of the oldest ski areas in Colorado, The Basin, as locals call it, has a long tradition of touring and backcountry skiing. In fact, hiking is a way of life here, as locals brave the high elevations (the ski area’s lifts top out at just under 12,500 feet) above the lifts to head to the lines that snake down the imposing East Wall. From the highest point—the North Pole—you start at a breathless 13,050 feet, with nothing but steeps, rocks and chutes below you, all in plain view of the punters on the Lenawee lift. It’s showboat big mountain skiing at its best, but the terrain is so vast that sometimes it’s hard to distinguish the skiers from the rocks.

We forego the East Wall to drop over into Arapahoe’s 400-acre expansion in Montezuma Bowl. Before the resort extended operations into the bowl, the area offered sunkissed backcountry lines that were popular with locals who skied down to Highway 5 and the town of Montezuma. We ski along the skier’s right of the new terrain, on a run called Bierstadt that quickly plunges into the trees. At the traverse back to the Zuma lift, we hug the rope and then, out of sight, drop out of bounds into unpatrolled territory, heading for the valley floor and Highway 5. Once at 5 it’s decision time. If daylight is plentiful, you’re feeling energetic and you’ve had an early start, you can head up 5 to Montezuma and County Road 275, which takes you to the abandoned mining town of Saints John and the climb up and over an above-treeline ridge to Keystone ski area. Otherwise, highway 5 is an escape route back to civilization and cold beers.

Because we’ve caught first chair at Loveland and because the wind has stopped and because the warmth of an encroaching spring is lengthening the hours in the day, we go for it. We gain even more time by scoring a ride in the back of a pickup truck when we hit Highway 5 to Montezuma and CR 275, the first segment of the Montezuma to Keystone link. The tour up the valley goes fast with a packed trail, well used by snowmobilers and snowshoers, and it’s not long before we pass the abandoned mining structures of Saints John. The site of the first silver strike in Colorado in 1861, Saints John is named after both St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. Much of the town remains private property, including the Saints John Mine, so we stay on the trail and resist the temptation to poke around in the abandoned structures.

The High Road: You can always use your thumb if you don’t want to walk.

While we’re tempted to take a break at Saints John and soak in the history there—the town was unique in that it had no saloons but there was a library—we forgo stops, rest breaks and even hydration in a go-for-broke push up to the top of the ridge. With avalanche danger minimal, we power up and, sweat dripping in our eyes, hit the shoulder of Keystone Mountain. The views are superlative. Behind us, the backside of Arapahoe Basin, the town of Montezuma and dozens of high peaks flocked with snow. In front of us is the last challenge: a moderate climb around the flank of Keystone Mountain.

A contouring traverse to our left takes us into the ski areas terrain and before we know it, we’re riding the Ruby Express towards the home stretch. A fast groomer from the top of the mountain allows us to take it easy on our legs and coast for the last 10 minutes of the trip, a good thing, because we’re gassed.

We find our shuttle vehicle at the parking lot at the base of Keystone Village. Once at the car we collapse with barely enough strength to peel off our boots (the removal of one revealing a massive blister on the heel of our split boarders), throw the gear in the car and stagger into the Village in search of greasy hamburgers and cold pints. •

Veteran ski industry journalist Tom Winter learned how to ski at Arapahoe Basin. On most days, you’ll find him in the backcountry.

THE RUNDOWN

How to Interconnect the Dots

This tour spans high altitudes and avalanche terrain. Because of this danger, participants should be fit and familiar with avalanche safety, backcountry gear—beacons, shovels and probes at the very least—and have AT, telemark or split snowboard bindings (see page 22) appropriate for backcountry travel. It’s also wise to attempt the tour in the spring when conditions are less severe. An Epic pass, valid at Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, will also ease the financial pain of buying single-day lift tickets at all three areas (although it is possible to purchase joint Arapahoe Basin and Keystone tickets). Loveland sells four-hour flex tickets that will get you started on the first leg, or save time and money by beginning your tour at the top of Loveland Pass.

Logistics are made easier by booking a two-night stay at Keystone. (Spend the day before the tour at the resort.) You can leave a shuttle car at Keystone, then drive over Loveland Pass to Loveland ski area on the morning of the tour in a second car. The drive is an opportunity to check out snow and weather conditions. And when you hit Keystone at the end of your day, you’ll be mighty happy that you’ve got a bed close by. Pick up your second shuttle vehicle at Loveland on your trip back to the Front Range the next day.