Gravel Adventure Field Guide

Introduction

Central Colorado, with its rugged and scenic landscape, is geologically, and symbolically, the state’s heart and soul. At the region’s core is Gunnison County, a sizable high-altitude basin surrounded by mountain ranges that include the West Elk Mountains, Elk Mountains, and Sawatch Range. This unique topography has bestowed Gunnison County with legendary status in the world of off-road cycling.

What makes the gravel riding in Gunnison County special is the area’s ecological diversity. Ecosystems shift from sagebrush steppe, to alpine tundra, to spruce-fir forests, to riparian corridors. You’ll see iconic species like the endangered Gunnison sage-grouse, elk, mule deer, mountain lions, and black bears. Add the cold-water fisheries of the Gunnison and Taylor rivers, and it’s easy to understand why Gunnison County represents the best of Colorado.

Historically, the communities of Gunnison County have been associated with ranching and mining, but since the arrival of the mountain bike in the mid-1980s, the county has become a global epicenter for off-road-cycling culture. A combination of conservation and restoration efforts, along with sustainable public land management, and the presence of Western Colorado University, have contributed to making Gunnison County one of Colorado’s premier gravel-bike destinations.

Welcome

With the area’s 2 million acres of public land and 1,169 miles of unpaved roads, it’s no wonder that avid Gunnison County cyclists started gravel biking here before the sport even had a name.

Whether on a well-groomed dirt road, flowy singletrack, or a high-altitude climb, any adventurous gravel cyclist will find something to enjoy in this scenic part of Central Colorado. The routes featured in this Gravel Adventure Field Guide range from out-and-backs, to loops, to options for a multiday bikepacking excursions. This guide helps adventure cyclists create an unforgettable Colorado gravel experience.

Further enhancing the quality of Gunnison County’s gravel riding is Central Colorado’s famously dramatic scenery. Landscapes shift from rolling seas of sagebrush, to river canyons through evergreen and aspen forests, to alpine tundra. These changing environments support an array of plant and animal life, highlighting the scenic and biological qualities of the Central Colorado gravel-riding experience.

Road Origins

Well before the arrival of European-Americans, Gunnison County was inhabited by several bands of Utes, who developed the area’s original trails and pathways. These bands included the Tabeguache and Parianuche, who used the Gunnison Valley for seasonal migration to hunt (elk, deer, and buffalo), gather plants, and camp. The trails they forged were later shared with arriving settlers, before being repurposed for modern recreational uses.

After the discovery of gold, silver, and other mineral deposits in the late 1870s, a population influx necessitated the creation of better infrastructure for moving freight and equipment to increasingly remote camps. Gunnison’s central location in the valley led to it quickly becoming a hub for trails and primitive roads leading to regional mining districts and supply points.

A key player in improving access was the well-known road builder Otto Mears, who made his way across Colorado in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Toll roads built by Mears, like the Poncha-Marshall-Gunnison Toll Road, improved wagon and stage travel into Gunnison County. Until then, Central Colorado had remained isolated due to distance, terrain, and climate. Commercial interest in mineral extraction inspired private enterprise to build these early roads.

Toll roads were vital for Gunnison County’s economic development; stagecoaches and freight wagons utilized them to keep mining camps running, while farms and ranches used them to supply food markets. By the 1880s, the railroad had supplanted these toll roads, whose original alignments nonetheless served as templates—an example is the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad line over Marshall Pass. As regional rail traffic increased, this rendered critical the secondary roads emanating out of the City of Gunnison for accessing local ranches, mines, and nearby towns.

The early roads produced interconnected communities and set the stage for Gunnison’s growth into an important regional center. By the late 1800s, the impact of heavy, fast-paced logging, grazing, and mining activities on the county’s lands encouraged the federal government to establish forest reserves that protected watersheds, timber, and soil. Gunnison National Forest was created in 1905. While most forest roads were early historic transportation routes, the USFS still further improved and maintained the internal road network. Initially, road construction focused on resource access (timber harvests, livestock management, and fire protection) rather than recreation; most road development was contingent on local needs and funding availability.

Beginning in the 1920s, Gunnison County partnered with the USFS to make backcountry areas more accessible. Post–World War II brought an increase in recreational uses like fishing, camping, and sightseeing, and, by the 2000s, a new travel-management plan. Seasonal closures in spring and winter were introduced to protect roads from damage and preserve habitat.

Community

Gunnison

Crested Butte

Founded in 1874, the City of Gunnison came to be as a result of decades of westward exploration in the United States. In 1853, Congress had assigned Captain John W. Gunnison, U.S. Army engineer and explorer, to survey a transcontinental railroad route across the Rocky Mountains. His efforts assisted with opening the Colorado interior to travel and settlement. 

The City of Gunnison officially incorporated in 1880 after it transitioned from a frontier camp to a permanent town. Mining, and subsequently the railroad, created a boom as gold, silver, and other extracted ores gained value. Gunnison’s link to broader regional markets made the transportation of minerals, livestock, supplies, and people profitable. As the twentieth century approached, ranching and higher education began to take economic root in the community.

Gunnison’s western identity is closely tied to ranching culture. An informal gathering, Cattlemen’s Days, grew into the “Granddaddy of Colorado Rodeos” after being formalized by the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association in 1900. Today, it’s the longest-running rodeo in Colorado, and fourth longest in the country.

When it began holding classes in 1911, Western State College of Colorado (today called Western Colorado University) quickly began to shape Gunnison’s cultural and intellectual identity. The college was originally founded in 1901 as the Colorado State Normal School, and was the first college on the Western Slope, solidifying the Gunnison community as the center of education in the region.

Physical markers highlighting Gunnison’s transformation from tent encampment to established mountain town include historic buildings, with some built of local sandstone like the Fisher-Zugelder House and Smith Cottage. The Gunnison Pioneer Museum features relocated structures like the first county post office, an 1879 cabin, and the Paragon and Doyleville schools. Other historic downtown sites are the Johnson Building and Webster Building, and the nearby Hartman Castle.

Crested Butte

Situated in the East River Valley, the town of Crested Butte resides on land traditionally inhabited by Ute peoples in summer. While surveying the Elk Mountains in 1873, geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden saw from Teocalli Mountain two peaks that he referred to as “crested buttes.” Today, these peaks are named Crested Butte and Gothic mountains.

Crested Butte was formally laid out in 1878 by Howard F. Smith to attract coal miners. It wasn’t until the late nineteenth century that local mining activity turned, however, toward silver. The miners who came here were a multicultural mix of immigrants from Wales, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Cornwall, Greece, and Italy, as well as ethnic Slavs.

Arriving in 1881, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad connected Crested Butte to the outside world. Population growth supported the opening of multiple hotels, saloons, and mills. Fortunately, due to a diversified economy of coal and supply services, the town survived the Silver Panic of 1893, which saw many nearby silver camps collapse. Tragedy struck in January 1884, when 60 to 70 miners died in an explosion at the Jokerville Mine.

Coal mining continued into the 1950s, but as diesel rail conversion and alternative energy sources expanded, it declined, initiating a concurrent loss of population. This set Crested Butte’s path toward outdoor recreation, which began when Dick Elfin and Fred Rice purchased the Malensek Ranch to open a ski area on Crested Butte Mountain. Their resort, which opened in the winter of 1962–63, featured one of the first gondolas in Colorado.

The area’s shift from an extractive to a recreation destination stabilized and grew the local economy. Meanwhile, wildflower blooms turned Crested Butte into the “Wildflower Capital of Colorado” as designated by the state legislature, and contributed to increases in summer visitation. This set the stage for mountain-bike tourism, as Crested Butte became one of the most important places in the development of the sport in the States.

Today, the Crested Butte Historic District preserves the community’s nineteenth-century architecture and streetscape. The Crested Butte Museum opened in the 1990s with the aim of curating artifacts, photographs, and archival records that chronicle the town’s mining, ranching, biking, and skiing histories.

Pitkin

The community of Pikin started as a mining camp named Quartzville in 1879. It was later renamed for Governor Frederick W. Pitkin. A brief mining boom led to the town’s gaining a school, newspaper, and church. It was the first major mining camp west of the Continental Divide, and at one point there were 30 mines. Pitkin was a crucial stop on the Denver & South Park Railroad, providing access to the famous Alpine Tunnel, which connected the Front Range to the Western Slope.

Today, Pitkin remains a quiet, historic, year-round community that preserves its past, like the Town Hall (1900), Pitkin Hotel (1904), and Pitkin Schoolhouse Museum (1924). The town is an adventure gateway to Cumberland Pass and the Gunnison National Forest.

Almont

Pitkin

The town of Almont’s history ties directly into Gunnison County’s mining and ranching booms. Situated at the confluence of the East and Taylor rivers, Almont was first settled in 1879 by a supply transporter named Samuel C. Fisher.

After being officially surveyed in 1881, the town was renamed Almont after a well-known Kentucky racehorse, who’d been sired by Fisher’s favorite stallion. A post office followed in 1882, and became a Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad junction. With its frequent fish fries, Almont became a social gathering place for miners , and the historic Almont Resort lodge was built in 1893.

Unlike other mining-bust communities, Almont did not become a ghost town. It instead focused on recreation, fishing, rafting, and ranching. The 1940 presidential candidate Wendell Willkie visited for a fish fry that attracted over 10,000 people. Later, in 1983, the Three Rivers Resort opened its doors.

Off-Road Cycling History

Gunnison County: The Pioneers of Dirt Culture

Gunnison County is a central character in the origin story of off-road cycling’s rise from fringe to mainstream sport. Beginning in the 1970s, cyclists in the Gunnison Valley, especially in Crested Butte, began modifying Schwinn cruiser bikes for rugged dirt-road use. These bikes were nicknamed “klunkers,” and influenced the first modern mountain bikes, later influencing equipment trends and gravel-bike design.

Off-road bikes enabled riders to take on backcountry routes like Pearl Pass between Crested Butte and Aspen. These efforts led to the Pearl Pass Tour, a regular off-road-cycling event that contributed to mountain biking attracting more cyclists to the region. The growth in popularity led to the formation of the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA), widely recognized as the oldest mountain-bike club in the world. Its mission was to organize cyclists, develop trails, and advocate for public land access. CBMBA has built and maintained dedicated singletrack and backcountry roads since the 1980s.

Increased trail development, pushed race-culture development in Gunnison County. Organized events, group rides, and competitive mountain-bike races aided the off-road cycling’s presence. Rage in the Sage at Hartman Rocks Recreation Area became a destination off-road race in the 1990s. An abundance of public land access sets Gunnison County apart, and has helped establish local mountain- and gravel-bike culture as a lifestyle. The grassroots efforts of CBMBA and Gunnison Trails have made Central Colorado a special off-road-cycling destination.

History of Western Colorado University

When it was founded in 1901, it was the first college established on Colorado’s Western Slope. The first class to attend, in 1911, included 13 students and 10 faculty. The school’s mission was to train and retain teachers for the rural communities of Western Colorado, and the year 1923 saw the school expand its educational curriculum from two years to four years, with a renaming to Western State College of Colorado. The construction of the iconic 420-foot-tall “W” on Tenderfoot Mountain also took place that same year.

Science education came to the forefront in Gunnison County in 1928, when the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory opened in the town of Gothic. Today, it’s a renowned research center attracting scientists and students to study high-altitude ecology and climate research. The post–World War II years brought increased enrollment as returning veterans took advantage of the GI Bill.

In the late 1970s, outdoor and experiential learning took root in concert with Gunnison County’s newly burgeoning recreation economy. Field-based programs and recreational activities became visible on campus—one example was the school’s athletic director, Paul Wright, persuading the NCAA to add skiing to collegiate winter athletics. This spirit endures today with the school’s first-of-its-kind mountain-sports program, which allows outdoor athletes to train and compete in snow sports, trail running, climbing, and cycling.

To reflect the school’s academic evolution, in 2019 Western dropped the “State” from its name and has since been called Western Colorado University. Its high-country setting, commitment to outdoor experiential learning, and community engagement make WCU a distinctive institution, one that remains deeply tied to the landscapes and people of Gunnison County.

Life at Western Colorado University is anything but ordinary. Here, you won't just sit in a lecture hall—you'll dive into hands-on courses

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Gravel Adventure Field Report

Community Cyclist Leadership

Cyclists bring local political and community leadership setting Gunnison County apart from other gravel-bike destinations is the deep co-involvement of both community and political leaders in the area’s cycling. A number of local government and university positions have been filled by individuals who have made bicycles a critical part of their lives. Active participation is not just symbolic; it influences policy and fiscal decision-making, enhances public trust, and improves economic and health standards.

Examples of county and city political leaders who are also active cyclists include County Commissioners Jonathan Houck and Laura Puckett Daniels, along with City of Gunnison Mayor Diego Plata. All use a bicycle for transportation and recreation, including gravel specifically. Houck also served as an early board member of Bikepacking Roots. Meanwhile, Mayor Plata brings the thinking of a corporate-sustainability analyst to his role. Ultimately, these folks’ cycling backgrounds help generate tangible political, economic, and civic benefits.

Western Colorado University has alumni and leadership who are cyclists as well. The school’s president, Brad Baca, and dean of students, Gary Pierson, are off-road-cycling enthusiasts. Along with Baca being an active participant in the Leadville 100, WCU Trustee Dave Wiens is a six-time event winner. Wiens is also the founder of Gunnison Trails and current executive director of the International Mountain Bicycling Association. Their connection to cycling enhances the school’s reputation for student education and quality of life in the outdoor-recreation space.