Mountain Biking in Colorado Springs? You Must Ride The Chutes

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Nice weather will be upon us before we know it, which means it's time to get the bikes out and hit the road, the paths, or the trails. One of the more popular trails in the Colorado Springs area is The Chutes, a fast, twisty ribbon of singletrack that is, when descending on a mountain bike, a stone cold blast. In fact, I can't remember a downhill on which I've had more fun. Singletracks.com lists the trail length at 5 miles (it sure doesn't seem like it,) and there are no technical sections to speak of. There are, however, a few high berms, which gives the trail a bobsled run sort of feel. The Chutes is located in Stratton Open Space on the west side of Colorado Springs. Unless you shuttle to the top, I know of two ways to get to the trail, both of which involves a lot of climbing. You can climb The Chutes itself (not recommended--too many cyclists flying down,) or, depending upon where you park, a route that might include a long, steep climb up 21'st Sreet, after which you still have to climb Gold Camp Road. There might be other routes, but if there are, I don't know about them. Those are the two ways I've gone. Either way is hard, but that descent is well worth it. Be on the lookout for hikers - a lot of them avoid the trail because of the speeding mountain bikers, but you will encounter hikers at some point. I've hiked it myself, and I'm all for sharing the trail, but I'll hike elsewhere and leave The Chutes to the guys and gals on the bikes. If you're ever in Colorado Springs with your mountain bike, The Chutes is a must-ride. (Note: The video below is a POV ride down The Chutes. It is not me in the video.)