Although this trip was over the course of two weeks the riding portion was limited to two days. Hence this report is in the Day Trippin Forum When a family vacation can include a few days of riding a motorcycle, there are few things better. When those few rides are in Colorado crossing mountain passes atop the continental divide it is truly amazing. What made this trip special was that I originally grew up in Colorado and unfortunately it wasnt till I moved to Texas that I truly fell in Love with motorcycles. So it has taken me the better part of 7 Years to make it back to Colorado to explore via the Motorcycle. From Sat August 9th to Sat August 23rd my family and I were able to escape the summer Texas heat and humidity and enjoy what I believe is the most beautiful time of year in Colorado. Yes Exchanging 100+Day/80+Night Temps for 75Day/50Night Temps!!!! Our trip was a whirlwind run across the state. Starting in Steamboat my Father in Law and I were able to sneak a day of riding. Buffalo Pass to Rabbit Ears Pass Loop. 114 miles 4.5 hr loop yet only 3 hrs of that was riding. Almost identical time to complete the Loop in steamboat as the Loop in Telluride yet almost 2.5 times the mileage. Cheat the System and Fly to Durango Ride the Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Short jump to Telluride for an amazing day of Riding 47.5 miles 4.5 hr loop yet only 3 hrs of that was riding. 7,900ft 13,114 ft Thank God for Fuel Injection!! Then two days of Driving back home to Texas! No matter how much that drive can suck the past 12 days made it well worth it!! BTW -Im on a 2010 Yamaha WR250x converted to an R. (Love those smPro rims) -Father-in-Law is on a 2013 Honda CRF 230L with the 305 big bore kit. Well, if you have had the patience to read through my rambling here are the Pictures and a little background on location .. (If I can figure out how I will include the GPX tracks for anyone who wants them) My Son (13 months old) and I spent the first week in steamboat visiting my Parents and Sister while my Wife and her parents explored Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. It was my in-laws first time to Colorado so they enjoyed doing all the tourist checklist items. Anyone who lives or has been to Colorado has probably seen more Marmots (Whistle Pigs) than any other animal. The Park sure has some Fat Elk A few random pics of Rocky Mountain National Park "Here's Johnny"-The Shining Stanley Hotel Now to the Good Stuff!!! Steamboat Ride Buffalo Pass starts about two miles outside of town just up Strawberry park road. Straight from the turnoff its gravel. For the first 8 or so miles the road is a decent gravel road. We saw a few campers parked in random campgrounds along the way. Once you reach Dry Lake Campground, about half way up the pass, the road turns to a true 4x4 road. Great on the bike, slow going in a truck or jeep. Me on Bike At the top of the pass is Summit Lake. Pretty small but a great place to just relax and enjoy the fresh air. But we were on a ride so no relaxing for us. Summit Lake I dont have any pictures. But the road going down the back side of Buffalo Pass towards Walden must have been a brand new road. Must have just missed the graters and gravel trucks. Super smooth but holy cow did you need to be on your game going around those corners. We never went down but I think I almost tucked the front end a dozen or so times. Now the rear end that was all over the place but thats just fun. Haha After that trip down it was about 20 or so miles of slab to get to Rabbit Ears Pass. We took a little break here at Muddy Pass Lake to relax before we headed up the pass. Near the East Summit we took a little offshoot of a road. Awesome road just winding along the divide. We stopped here at an overlook at an area called buffalo park. Decided to head back to steamboat via the Highway due to some nasty looking rain clouds headed our way. Back down the same road. Again what a blast. Then slabbed it to steamboat. Rain had already made it to the Highway but roads were not too bad. (((Darrels Bike-Buffalo Park))) Great time. Lived there over twenty years never went all the way to Walden. Driven up to Summit lake many times. Great little Loop. Not a bad first ride for my Father in Law either. Durango Like I Mentioned before I Cheated and my dad, sister and I flew from steamboat to Durango. The Wife, kid, My Mother and the In-laws all drove. Haha 7.5 hr drive or 2 hr flight?!?! ((Flight to Durango)) A Little Cramped but it's all good. We stayed the night in Durango right across the street from the Railroad Depot and good thing for us to cause 8 people and 1 car would make it difficult to get anywhere. That next morning we rode the train to Silverton. If you have not done this trip you should make plans to do so. I would also recommend doing what we did and that is ride the train one way and then ride the bus the opposite. Makes the day a bit more enjoyable, especially if you have a 13 month old who didnt get his nap. haha Telluride After Durango my parents flew back to steamboat and the rest of us headed out to Telluride. Steamboat is a beautiful town with mountains a hills and open fields. Telluride on the other hand is shoved in the base of a valley with 13,000ft peaks all around it. Gorgeous!! We got in early and walked around town, and the next day my Father-in-law and I set off over Imogene Pass towards Ouray! ((((Me Taking Picture Of my Bike)))) (((Picture I was Just Taking))) Surrounding area (((Darrels Bike))) ((Top of Imogene Pass)) (Jeeps Coming from Ouray) ((Down Towards Ouray)) After Imogene Pass it was a 13 mile paved trek along the million dollar highway to the trailhead of Black Bear Pass. As for the Million Dollar Highway when they have a sign for a 10 mph corner they mean it!! It was a great road. Would Love to be on there with my SV. ((At the Top of Black Bear Pass)) ((Alpine Valley)) ((Down Black Bear)) ((After the Steps)) Town of Telluride ((Bridal Veil Falls)) ((Flowers)) Black Bear Pass was a fun ride. The small section (800ft or so) just before the switchbacks going down into Telluride could be a bit tricky. Would not want to run down them in the wet but all in all if you pick your line well and let the bikes suspension do what it does you should be all good. As for our weather it was typical Colorado summer weather. Clear in the morning with the chance of afternoon thunderstorms. We had a bit of a sprinkle here or there but all in all great!! Im ready to head back. Well that was the trip. Hope you enjoyed the Pics! Alright Kids out now my turn
Great write up and pictures. My brother lives right outside Steamboat. Rode out last summer, and planning on going next June. Motorcycle paradise.
You hit the highlights of the Centennial State, that's for sure! I spent all my summer riding out of state, seeing these pictures reminds that I need some in state adventures soon! Thanks for the post!
Those are some great pics. Makes me wish I could have joined you on the rides. That WR is looking a lot better than the last time I saw it back in Moab. By the way, you are very lucky to have a father-in-law who also enjoys riding. Any more pics of the airplane? That's gotta be a hell of a way to see the landscape and scope out some cool riding areas.
I lived in grand junction for 5 months last year. I went to Ouray numerous times, Love the area, never got down to Steamboat, Telluride or Cortez, both places I very much wanted to go. Those pictures are absolutely wonderful, gives me some great ideas of where to go :)!!! Glad you had fun.
We should plan it, next year sometime! I'll have to move you to my crew, or just leave and let someone else take over.
