Saturday, May 31, 2008

Memorial Day, Camping and Mountain Biking in Colorado


The day after the Memorial Day weekend proves to be a good day of reflection of what lies ahead as the summer vacation season has now officially begun. In our first two years we have focused on winter in the mountains primarily, but now you will see our group begin to focus and provide more information and detail on summer activities in the mountains. Activities like mountain biking, camping, hiking, rafting, fly fishing guides and resort based events and activities where be our initial focus. Look for national and state based ides and directories over the coming months this summer. We have just published our first rafting and fly fishing guides, with several vendors offering discounted trips and online booking options to make planning your next mountain endeavor easier.

We had the good fortune to get out for an evening of camping this weekend at Buffalo Creek Campground located in the Pike National Forest of Colorado. Conveniently located with easy access from the front range it was our first time camping here. I had come to mountain bike ride several years ago as it is home to a wide range of classic and epic single track riding that is part of the Colorado Trail network. In searching for direction online I was surprised at how few and lacking directions were online.

In an effort to enable you to find this location we were able to finally get a physical address of the main Buffalo Creek Campsite. On the sign entering the campground we deciphered 28718 Red Skin Creek Road as the exact address in the Pike National Forest. Getting there was relatively easy as we made our way south from Boulder down Route 93, past Golden, Red Rocks and into Morrison. There we worked our way to Highway 285 past Conifer to Pine Junction. Take a left onto County Road 126 – Pine Valley Road – and continue 5 plus miles toward the town of Pine. Once here keep going past the first temptation, to not turn on Buffalo Creek Road as you enter town. On the left is a ranger office as well. Be sure to go through town and follow up the hill to you have reached the summit and you will see clearly marked signs on your right hand side. There is a quick turn in on the right for day parking for those here to simply take advantage of the great riding for the day. For those not able to send a night or three camping this is still a must ride area for the devout and serious mountain bike enthusiast.

Note the riding is not for hard core alpha only riders. There is quite a bit of variety for those who simply want great rolling single track surrounded but forest and great views of the mountain peak s surrounding the area. The area was hit hard several years ago with a dramatic fire that burned significant parts of the region. The riding through the recovering forest provides a sometimes eerie sense and now with the vegetation starting to recover, a chance to see mother nature’s recuperative powers. Check out the photo gallery we posted at My Mountain Sports Club.

Altitude – Ranges 7,000 – 9,000 feet. Drink lots of water and be sure to bring sunscreen and a shell for after noon showers.

Campgrounds – Lone rock campground, No web site found yet – 303.647.2350 and Meadows Creek which has great group camping. Our weekend here was part of a large group that spends each Memorial day here. See photo gallery for views of campground, riding and cooking options.

2 comments:

  1. You can find information about Lone Rock campground at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/recreation/camping/spl_camping_splriver_area.shtml#lonerock.

    For complete campground information on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests go to: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/recreation/camping/camp_guide.shtml

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  2. Thanks. We will check this out and make sure we publish the link information.

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