Outdoor Project

The crown jewel of the 18 Road Mountain Bike Trail System, Zippity-Doo-Dah sits like the spine of a giant brontosaurus high in the north Fruita desert. According to legend, when the 18 Road Trail System was nothing more than a few lines in the desert, locals gathering at what is now the main parking lot envisioned something grander.

If you're riding the mountain bike trails at 18 Road, don't forget this purpose-built flowy and bumpy trail is made for you. Much like Kessel Run, this trail is a relatively flat ride down the slope with enough jumps and banked corners to make you squeal with joy. Bikers on the western slope knows this trail as PBR, Pumps Bumps and Rollers.

Steve’s Loop is one of many quintessential mountain bike trails to ride while in the Fruita area, and it typifies the kinds of terrain and awe-inspiring vistas that help make Fruita and the Grand Valley a world-class destination for mountain biking. This ride will take you across the tops of a series of finger-like red rock canyons, cruising high above the banks of the Colorado River, and running close enough to the canyon rim to make a few spots a bit intense in terms of exposure.

Mary’s Loop in the McInnis Canyon section of the Kokopelli Mountain Bike Trail is one of the most breathtaking rides in the entire system. The Kokopelli Mountain Bike Trail is an old mix of single track, four-wheel drive roads, and backcountry roads that begins in Loma Colorado and travels over 142 miles over the Las Mountains of Utah, down the infamous Porcupine Rim Trail, and ends in Moab, Utah. Created by the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Association (COPMOBA) in the days before full suspension mountain bikes, this might be one of the most epic trails in all of Colorado.

​Horsethief Bench is one of the original trails at McInnis Canyon and a phonomenal mountain biking trail among the Kokopelli Loops. Construction on the larger 142-mile Kokopelli Trail began in 1989 with Mary's Loop, and the now legendary Horsethief Bench was built soon after. These trails helped pave the way for Fruita to become a mountain bike mecca on the Western Slope. 

The Corner Canyon Trail System is a fantastic recreational area near Salt Lake City that is mainly used for mountain biking but also allows foot traffic, dogs, and horseback riding. The trail system is butted up against the Wasatch mountains in the city of Draper in the southeast corner of the Salt Lake Valley. Tucked between developments is a free and wide open swath of doubletrack and singletrack to explore without having to leave the suburbs. With its low altitude, the riding season starts earlier and lasts longer than many Wasatch mountain biking trails.

Located just west of Twin Lakes on the eastern slope of Independence Pass, Parry Peak Campground is a creekside camp that is split into two areas: One sits along Highway 82 and is surrounded by pines, while the other is located down a short dirt road along Lake Creek among aspens. There are views of nearby 13,391-foot Parry Peak throughout the campground.

Climbing 2,000 feet up a steady 3-mile grade, hiking the Cathedral Lake Trail offers an alternative to the crowds at the Maroon Bells. This hike is a great cardio workout that contains no shortage of alpine views as a reward.

Rising 500 feet above the Columbia River, Horsethief Butte is a 1,100 by 600 foot basalt fortress within Columbia Hills Historical State Park, and this short hike provides an excellent tour of this interesting formation. Renowned for its countless beginner-friendly rock climbing routes, the crag also hosts Native American petroglyphs and picturesque yellow grasslands that turn purple and yellow every April with the blossoming of lupine, cushion fleabane, and balsamroot.

Located on the western end of 90-acre Horsethief Lake, Columbia Hills Historical State Park's campground is modestly sized and ideally shaded when compared to the rest of grassland 3,338-acre park. The campground itself has eight gravel "partial utility" sites (electric connection only), two platform tent sites, a tee-pee, four walk-in sites, two hiker/biker campsites, and a restroom and shower facility that's shared with the park's day use picnic area.