Grand Junction, Colorado
Organic Farm & Wildlife Area
Local Rides: Grand Junction Hike-N-Bike
North Fruite Desert Trail System(18 Road)
More information on the Riverfront Trails: COLORADO RIVERFRONT COMMISSION
Local Trail Maps :
Fruita area Mountain Bike Trails
North Fruite Desert Trail System(18 Road)
A good map brings confidence
and an easier, safer, more fun bicycle ride.
Additional pages of John Hodge Maps:
Riverfront Trail, Colorado National Monument, Organized Rides, GJct/Fruita/Palasides, Moab Area,Rides that Climb, Trails
Event & Ride Calendar
Information on the Grand Valley Living Experience represents our own experience! Your lifestyle choices may have different results. Chose carefully, one is responsible for their own actions - each have their own risks.
Now on facebook & Twitter
| Map Name | Description | jpg |
down- load |
date |
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| Index to RFT Maps | The Riverfront Trail Through Grand Junction, CO The big picture of the RFT Maps listed here |
3.4.13 |
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| Monument View Section | Distance: It’s 2.4 miles out to the end, so 4.8 miles round trip. Plus the half mile side trip to check out the interpretative trail. Ride Difficulty: Easy, relaxed, mellow. Take in the scenery and watch for wildlife kind of ride. Any hills?: Nope, flatter than a pancake. |
3.4.13 |
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Blue Heron Section and Audubon Section |
Distance: However far you feel like riding, but the loop is about 8 miles Ride Difficulty: Easy, relaxed, mellow. Take in the scenery kind of ride. |
3.4.13 |
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Riverside Section and Las Colonias Section |
This section connects the Blue Heron - Audubon Sections with C ½ Road, which then takes you out to 29 Road and the Parks and Wildlife Section of the Riverfront Trail. Along through here we have the historic community of Riverside, the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens, and Watson Island. The eastern part of the section includes a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that will take you across the Colorado River to Eagle Rim Park, where the views make the trip well worthwhile. Ride Difficulty: Easy, relaxed, mellow ride.To get to Eagle Rim Park requires riding up a hill that starts with the bridge across the Colorado River |
3.5.13 |
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| C ½ Road to and from Parks and Wildlife Section (west) | Distance: However far you feel like riding. How far can I go?: From 33 1/2 Road on the east end to all the way out to River Road near I-70 on the west end. Ride Difficulty: Easy, relaxed, mellow ride. What to watch out for: 29 Road can be busy at times, so be careful getting to and from C ½ Road. |
3.4.13 |
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Parks and Wildlife Section, Clifton Nature Park and Trail Section |
Distance: This stretch of the Riverfront Trail is about 3 miles long. Ride Difficulty: Easy, relaxed, mellow. Take in the scenery kind of ride .Any hills? Well, an optional one. The path across the river to C ½ Road is a bit of a climb. You might just break a sweat. Just kidding. If you go this way you will break a sweat, no doubt about it. |
3.4.13 |
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| Colorado National Monument Loop | Tour of the Moon - the Crown Jewel Road Ride - moderate to difficult 38.2 miles Total Climb, 2,700 ft. |
1.11.13 |
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| Rose Hill Rally by JH | John Hodge's map of the Valley's well know Spring Metric Century Ride. |
6.15.12 |
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Tour of the Valley Cover Page |
Valley's August Century Ride: difficulty: fair bit of climbing half way through,tough on a warm day, first half the route, fairly flat,at about mile 50 you hit four miles of around 6%, with more hills to follow, toughest part tends to be rollers in the last 20 miles |
3.17.11 |
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Tour of the Valley Section 1 |
Section 1 | 3.17.11 |
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Tour of the Valley Section 2 |
Section of the Tour of the Valley take you east out of Grand Junction to Palisade, then across East Orchard Mesa where the orchards & vineyards make for some wonderful cycling. Heads up, Before getting to East Orchard Mesa you’ll be going up a short, steep little hill that averages 14% but pitches up to 18% in the middle. |
11.19.10 | ||
Tour of the Valley Section 3 |
Section 3 | 11.29.10 | ||
Tour of the Valley Section 4 |
Section 4 | 11.29.10 | ||
Tour of the Valley Section 5 |
Route goes through Colorado National Monument, and the park requires that all cyclists have front & rear lights in tunnels - $75 fine per light, also need $4 or a National Parks Pass | 3.17.11 |
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Tour of the Valley Section 6 |
Almost done! All that’s left is this delightful cruise through some of the Grand Valley’s beautiful farmland, “false flats” and occasionally rollers | 11.19.10 | ||
| Tour of the Valley - 100 mile Century Route Elevation Profile |
Take a look a this rides climbs. | |||
| Index Road Ride Maps | The big picture of the Road Ride Maps listed here |
10.20.12 |
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| Palaside Wine Tour | Mellow, one real serious hill, just 24 miles, ride takes you through the famous orchards and vineyards of Palisade, Colorado. | 2.12.13 |
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| Fruita Farms Alphabet Ride | Easiest & flattest ride in the valley - 37 miles |
2.21.10 |
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| Grand Junction City Bicycle Routes | Suggested Grand Junction Bicycle Routes The good, bad & ugly roads |
10.4.12 |
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| Highline Lake / Farms Loop | Easy, except when windy, 50 miles, Total Climb 870 ft. |
2.21.10 |
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| Orchard Mesa - Palisade - East Orchard Mesa Loop | Pretty easy except for that one steep hill (14% grade) 38 miles, Total Climb 731 ft. |
2.20.13 |
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| Rapid Creek's Bicycle Map of Palisade | Map to tour the city of Palisade's Winerys, Orchards Fruit Stands & more... |
8.18.11 |
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| Arches National Park Road Ride | This is a great early spring and late fall ride, but it’s strongly advised that you think twice about riding this during the summer. For one thing, this area gets REALLY hot and very crowded. | 3.17.12 |
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Highway 313 to Grand View Point |
This is a simple out and back route with a jaw dropping view at the turn around. A nice reward for a fair bit of climbing. The shoulder on Hwy 313 is wide and smooth, and although it pretty much goes away in Canyonlands National Park, the traffic tends to be pretty mellow. |
6.12.12 |
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| The Potash Road | If you are looking for a flat yet scenic ride, this is the one for you. 32 miles along the Colorado River, hardly any traffic, gorgeous scenery, and even an arch along the way. Keep your eye open for petroglyphs and even dinosaur tracks. This ride has it all...except for hills. Yea, there’s no treally any hills. But the wind may make up for that. |
3.19.12 |
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| Index Road Ride Maps | The big picture of the Road Ride Maps listed here |
10.20.12 |
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| DS Road | Difficult: 62.4 miles, Total Climb 4,025 ft. Low traffic and spectacular views | 10.20.12 |
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| Grand Mesa Hill Climb | Difficult: 62.6 miles, Total Climb 6,049 ft. |
6.16.12 |
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| Kannah Creek | Moderate, 34 miles, Total Climb 1730 ft. |
11.5.12 |
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| Little Park Road - Monument Loop | Moderate to difficult: 29.1 miles, Total Climb 2840 feet. |
9.25.12 |
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| Unaweep Canyon | So gorgeous you'll forget how much it hurts. 86 miles, 4,900 ft total Climb. Moderate to Difficult |
10.3.11 |
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| Unaweep Canyon - Adden The Century Ride | For a few mile more you get a Century Ride (103 miles) Intermediate to difficult. | 5.5.10 |
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| Gateway Trails | All of the Gateway area trails are moderately difficult technically and physically. If you’re new to the sport this wouldn’t be the best place for your first mountain bike ride, but after a little experience these trails can be |
1.11/13 |
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| Gunnison Bluffs Trail and the Old Spanish Trail |
All of the trials in the Gunnison Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail system are technically easy. However, there are some sandy spots and some short, steep hills, some steep enough so that you’ll probably want to walk your bike. So these trails canbe a bit physically demanding, especially on a warm day. And speaking of weather, it is strongly advised that these trails be avoided when they’re wet. The dirt out here is has lots of clay in it, so when it’s wet it sticks to everything. |
12.23.12 |
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| Kokopelli Loops | From Grand Junction: take I-70 west to the Loma exit, Exit 15. Turn left, go across the interstate to the frontage road and turn right. Go about 1000ft (0.2 mile) and turn left at the gravel road. If you reach the truck scales you’ve gone too far. Anyway, once on the gravel road go just over 1/2 mile to the trail head. |
2.5.13 |
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| Lunch Loop | Getting to the Trailhead: Go west on Main Street. three blocks to 1st Street. Turn right. Go three blocks to Grand Avenue. Turn left. Go over the bridge that goes over the railroad tracks and over the Colorado River to Monument Road (about 0.9 mile). Turn left. Go about 1.6 miles, the Lunch Loop trailhead is on the left. You pretty much can’t miss it. |
2.5.13 |
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| 18 Road Area | Getting to the Trailhead: From I-70: Exit at the Fruita exit, turn north. Go straight at the 4-way stop, go another two blocks to Ottley Ave., turn right. Go four blocks, about 0.37 mile, to Maple St., turn left. Go 3.3 miles to N 3/10 Road, turn right. Go 1/2 mile to 18 Road, turn left. After 2.8 miles the road will go from paved to gravel, stay on the main gravel road another 4.3 miles. The trailhead is on the left. |
2.5.13 |
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| Palisade Area Trails | Help keep these trails open. Please respect private property.Just ‘cause there’s a trail doesn’t mean you aren’t trespassing. |
2.6.12 |
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| Palisade Rim Trail | Take the Palisade/Highway 6 exit, Exit 42,about 10.5 miles east of Horizon Drive on I-70. Come down the off-ramp and turn right (the only way you can go). Go 3/4 of a mile to Highway 6 and turn left (heads up: it’s a divided highway, be careful not the head east in the west bound lane!). Stay on Highway 6 for 2.8 miles till you see a good sized dirt parking lot on the left for a river put-in. There is no legal parking on the shoulder of the road at the trailhead. Once you’re on your bike head back west on Highway 6 for 0.1 mile. Look for a fenced in corridor that starts up the hill on the side of the road opposite the river. That’s the beginning of the Palisade Rim Trail. |
2.1.13 |
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| Rabbit Valley | Rabbit Valley is near the Colorado/Utah border, so compared to the other mountain biking areas it takes a bit of a drive to get there. From the Horizon Drive in Grand Junction, take I-70 west 29.7 miles to the Rabbit Valley/2 Road exit. From Fruita take I-70 west for 17.8 miles to get to the Rabbit Valley exit. |
2.13.13 |
Questions about the maps velocartographer@gmail.com
"has the perfect combination of experience: Geology, cartography, a bicycle mechanic and a local bicycle enthusiast who enjoys bicycle touring. John has taught bicycling skills courses at REI and Mesa County." THF
A note from the maps' author:
I made these maps to aid cyclist unfamiliar with the routes around the Grand Junction area or, as in the case of the Colorado National Monument, laws that are unique to some of our local rides. These maps are free to download and print, they're my gift to the cycling community that has done so much for me. As for where we go from here: I've got some ideas for further routes including a series of maps for the Tour of the Valley Century route and even a couple multi-day rides; but first, a question: Is anyone out there? I haven't heard from anyone using these maps for a long time and I'm curious as to whether they are getting used. I'd be delighted to continue making more of these but only if there are riders out there who can make use of them. Please drop me a note at velocartographer@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, you're invited to discuss these maps or anything else concerning road cycling in the Grand Junction area on the Grand Junction Colorado Road Cycling RoutesGrand Junction Colorado Road Cycling Routes facebook page.
A word about copyrights: You'll notice that each map I made has a copyright notice. Does this mean that you can't print it out and use it? Absolutely not! You are more than encouraged to download the .pdf file, print the map, use it, pass it along, whatever you like. Almost. What you can't do is sell them or in any other way make money off of my maps. I made these for everyone to print out for free. Local businesses, such as bike shops, have my permission to print these out and give them away for free, but they're also not allowed to sell them or otherwise make money off them unless they've made prior arrangements with the map author.
If you represent a local business interested in making such arrangements, feel free to contact me at velocartographer@gmail.com .
Thanks,
John Hodge
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Information on the Grand Valley Living Experience represents our own experience! Your lifestyle choices may have different results. Chose carefully, one is responsible for their own actions - each have their own risks.
Now on facebook & Twitter
CNM, Rim Rock Drive ,Tour of the Moon
email: info[at]tomorrowhillfarm[dot]com
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