Spring on the Colorado Front Range often means snow or rain. In fact in the last week and a half we’ve had 3 snow storms. With the snow and rain comes muddy trails. On Sunday I waited until afternoon to go mountain biking but still hit a few muddy sections.
Hiking, running or mountain biking on muddy trails can tear them up. The best thing is to avoid muddy trails and wait until they dry out. We’re fortunate to have some locals trails that are gravel and don’t get very muddy. If you aren’t sure in your area, contact a local bike or outdoor shop to find out which trails get muddy.
If you’re on a trail and encounter a short, muddy section, the best thing to do is go right through the middle of it. As you can see in the photo above, going around the edge widens the trail and creates an even bigger mud section. Most of our lower snow has melted but on trails that are snowy, it’s best to go early in the morning before it warms up and they become muddy.
Colorado Springs trails that get muddy
- Palmer Park
- Red Rocks Park
- Section 16 – the east side by the hogbacks
- Cheyenne Mountain State Park
- Garden of the Gods
- Parts of Ute Valley Park
- Parts of Stratton Open Space
Most of the trails in the Cheyenne Canon area are gravel and don’t get too muddy. These trail include Captain Jacks, Buckhorn and Columbine. Palmer Trail from High Drive is also good but dropping down Section 16 isn’t advised when it’s muddy. Other than a couple short sections, Barr Trail also is good when wet.
– UltraRob
Tags: hiking, mountain biking, running
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I'm having a hard time with the trails around West Virginia also. Muddy paths + leaves make it difficult to find an optimum tire pressure due to slippage not related to 'da PSI's
Maybe I need a new set of tires… They are older than one season~
New tires generally do make a difference. We don't get that much mud and don't have many leaves so I don't have a good idea which tires would work best in those conditions.