Let’s Ride

Here are three favorite rides from our friends at Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) 

CBMBA – the oldest mountain bike club in the world – was founded in 1983. Over the last 40 years, the community’s passion for trail building has blossomed into a force of nature. And now we all get to reap the benefits. 

Read on for a collection of some of our favorite Crested Butte rides and be sure to check out more ride details and trail reports at crestedbuttemountainbike.com.

Beginner Ride: Deli, Upper, Tony’s Loop

A nice beginner loop starting and ending in the town of Crested Butte. The route has a mix of dirt path, pavement, and singletrack. Great ride for someone looking for an easy spin who may not be super comfortable on singletrack. Starting behind the CB Community School, the Deli Trail is slightly downhill, a nice bike path and gentle roads through Skyland past the Crested Butte Club Golf Course and on to the Divine Trail (start of the single track), then onto the Upper Loop for a short connection over to Tony’s Trail for a great downhill right back into the Town of CB! Great ride for someone with little to no experience on singletrack.

intermediate Ride Snodgrass Loop

*Note Seasonal Closure

 This loop has been a local favorite intermediate mountain bike loop for a long time. At the Snodgrass Trailhead on Gothic Road, there is a parking lot and outhouse, which makes it the natural start/finish, but you can also easily ride it from town or Mt. CB.

From the Snodgrass parking lot, climb the road up to where it opens up. Then you can stay straight on the road and climb straight up, or take a right on Teddy’s Trail for a mellower climb. Either way, the ride starts with climbing, then some rolling ups and downs across the flank of the mountain, and finally you crest the ridge and start a fun descent through beautiful aspen forests. The ride drops you out on Washington Gulch Road, where you turn left and mostly descend to where it joins Gothic Road. Take another left and climb back up the rec path alongside the road to where you started.

Snodgrass has strict seasonal closures, so check crestedbuttemountainbike.com to be sure this ride is good to go!

advanced Ride Baxter Gulch to Green Lake

 *Non-motorized = no ebikes

Built to go up and down, Baxter Gulch was made for mountain bikes.  This loop is an instant classic for several reasons! The first being its proximity to downtown Crested Butte, allowing for some great refreshments after your ride. The second being the character of the new Baxter Gulch Trail (completed 2018), which creates a very scenic climb to the flanks of Whetstone Mountain. With some steep pitches, this beauty climbs in earnest, but it is so worth it. After the ‘Baxter Saddle’ and some stunning views to the south, you descend the final bit of Baxter Gulch to the Carbon Creek Trail (#436).  Turn right on Carbon Creek, and enjoy the hard work the USFS has done to re-route some of these formerly unsustainable sections.  Although chunky it eventually becomes a great and rowdy downhill trail.  Carbon intersects with the Green Lake Trail— turn right to descend down to Town, or take a left turn to go jump in the lake before heading down and enjoying one of Crested Butte’s best downhills. Green Lake descends more than four miles of steep, rooty, flowy goodness on primo dirt! Do be aware of hikers going both directions. Green Lake is a popular hiking trail too. Ring that bell!

Pro tip: Start your ride in the town of CB and not at the Baxter Gulch trailhead. This way you can finish at the bar and not with a climb.