Mountain Biking Gunnison Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail

Colorado, mountain biking | UltraRob | Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 10:48 am

Yesterday I spent the day in Grand Junction on the way to Moab. There’s lots of mountain bike riding in the area including the Tabeguche Lunch Loops and trails in Fruita. The Colorado National Monument also is a nice road ride.

Over the 2 days before, I had spent about 7 hours crawling around on my hardwood floors re-coating them which had left my body not feeling so great. That was followed by a 5+ hour drive. I was pretty sure my legs weren’t going to be very happy riding. I wanted to do a fairly easy ride to spin the legs out.

The trailhead for the Gunnision Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail is less than 1/2 mile from my aunt and uncle’s house. In spite of my many visits, I had never ridden the trail. This seemed like the perfect time to finally go ride it.

For the most part, Gunnison Bluffs and Old Spanish Trail are non-technical double track. There are a few steep hills but they aren’t long. The trail follows along the top of the Bluffs along the Gunnision River. There are also good views of the Grand Mesa.

The Gunnision Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail is a good ride if you’re in the Grand Junction area and want to do a nice spin. I ended up with 14.87 miles 1211 vertical feet and a ride time of 2:00:30

You can view the Gunnison Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail Google Map and elevation profile. I have photos marked on the map but most of them aren’t linked yet.

Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots