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I drove I-70 west to Glenwood Springs in order to bicycle the Rio Grande Rail Trail (from Glenwood Springs to Aspen, a former candidate for the Rail Trail Hall of Fame). I was disappointed to be driving through such a spectacular canyon at high speed, not able to enjoy the canyon and river views because all my attention was riveted on the Interstate traffic. At Glenwood Springs, I asked at a bicycle shop where the start of the Rio Grande Trail was. The bike shop guy said I should definitely check out the Glenwood Canyon Trail, too, which I did the next day. Glad I did! There is no better way to enjoy the river and the canyon scenery. I relished seeing what I had missed in my car. The Colorado was in June flood, and one section of the trail had several inches of water on it - that's how up close and personal you get to the massive rapids. There is one brief section on regular roads with some short hills, but they have little traffic. The rest of the paved trail is right next to the river with a gentle grade east, up river. You can see and hear the railroad trains on the other side of the river, and you are adjacent to and below I-70 on the north bank. This is not a wilderness experience, but the architecture of the road and trail on one side, and the RR and tunnels on the other are interesting in their own right. Towering over it all are the massive red canyon walls. Overall it was a sublime experience; an ideal cycling day ride (28 miles out and back), car free and carefree, with spectacular canyon views and roaring rapids.
I pretty much concur with the other reviewers comments but I have to knock off a star for the proximity to the busy, noisy, ugly interstate. If there was no super highway it would be a 6 star ride! But to be honest, if there was no interstate there would be no path. If you can keep your focus toward the nicer natural side of things, it is an incredibly unique and scenic place and fun, stress free riding.
¿This is not a flat, riverside trail but it is not that difficult. As to be expected, it climbs going up river with the western half (up to Hanging Lake) having more climbing (a few hundred feet total). The eastern half (east of Hanging Lake) is mostly flat¿ but is a little more exposed to the winds, and the winds tend to blow pretty good out of the west through the canyon. So even though you may be going downriver/slightly downhill in the eastern half, it can be some work if the wind picks up.
¿At certain times of the year (fall/winter), sections of the river are de-watered (dam is closed).... it looks kind of weird and there is no whitewater symphony to drown out the highway cacophony.¿ Guess that makes up for other times when there is an abundance of water and it can be over the path! ;-)
Being a relatively narrow and tall canyon means not a lot of sunlight gets in at certain times at certain places. On hot summer days this is great; on cooler shoulder season days, be prepared for some chilly spots.
Plain and simple: It is just beautiful. About 13 or so miles along the Colorado river and among the canyon walls. The path is concrete all the way. You can stop half way up the trail from Glenwood Springs and hike the 1.5 mile to Hanging Lake. This is a trail that shouldn't be missed. It can get a little crowded in sections due to the people going to Hanging Lake, but otherwise not crowded at all.
We started at 7:30 am at the trail head in Aspen. We rode the 30 or so miles to Carbondale for breakfast at the Village Smithy. Great ride and great place for breakfast. We rode back to Aspen. (We could have extended the downhill ride, about 10 more miles into Glenwood Springs but we didn't.) The trail is beautiful the entire way. You start out following the roaring river and rise a couple of hundred feet above the river and go from the paved path to a packed gravel path. (The gravel runs about 2 or 3 miles, then back on the paved path.) Easy on the bike though. We were on a tandem and had no problems. Once you get to the top above the river, it is down hill all the way into Carbondale. It took us a total of 1 hour 45 minutes to get to the restaurant. On the way back it is slightly an uphill ride. Just enough slope to make it a little challenging. It took us about 2 hours and 30 minutes to ride back to Aspen. It is a beautiful and wonderful ride the entire way. You will see the roaring river, ranches, and mountain vistas. You must ride this trail.
There are big plans for this trail - but they have not happened yet. Today this is a one mile stretch of paved trail that does not link with any other trails.
Started at the no name rest area,rode up 12 or so miles to the start.Did not see any rafters but riding next to the white water was just spectacular.There are rest areas with clean restrooms and picnic tables all along the way.The grade both up and back was gentle,very easy riding.The highway engineering is amazing all by itself.All along the way there is stuff to stop and look at.A destination ride for sure.
This trip was a memorable experience
I really enjoyed the trail my mind just gets in another dimension
when I bicycle
I think this trail should be called the Roaring Fork Trail. The Rio Grande River is is about 100 miles away. It's a beautiful ride, albeit gets pretty busy down near Glenwood.
Nonstop stunning views of majestic mountains and the beauty of the Colorado River await you on this unforgettable 15 mile ride. The grade is easy and all hard surface. Cool canyon breezes kept us comfortable on a hot August morning. Highly recommend Canyon bikes in Glenwood who will shuttle you one way. Don't miss this opportunity when you are in the area.
Two years ago we rode uphill from GWSprings to Carbondale, and glided back downhill to GWSprings. This year we decided to take the shuttle offered by Glenwood Adventures. $39 includes bike rental. They dropped us off in Carbondale, and first we rode uphill to almost Basalt to get in a little pedaling, then turned around and glided all the way back to GWSprings. About 35mi total. We considered taking the RFTA bus, but there were 3 of us, and the bus bike racks only hold 2 bikes. The website also says first come-first-serve, and this was a peak season Sunday, so we didnt want to risk it. We needed to rent bikes anyway. The Glenwood Adventure shuttle was great, as were the bikes (21 speed city bikes in good shape). Included handlebar bags and helmet. As it turns out, we saw many RFTA buses with no bikes on the racks, so next trip, if we have our own bikes, we will park in GWSprings, ride the RFTA bus to Aspen, and 'glide' back to GWS so we can see the whole trail end to end. In Carbondale, Fatbelly Burgers is a good stop 1 block off the trail. Hotels in Carbondale are more affordable than the ones in GWSprings because of canyon rafting in GWS. Enjoy this gem!
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