Directions to Trailhead: Take I-70 west out of Denver. Go past the 470 exit, and take the very next exit for Morrison. At the end of the exit, take a left onto Colorado Hwy. 26 at the light. Go under the I-70 overpass, and the park will be on your right 100 yards later. Trailhead is on SE side of the lot. You can't miss it.
About This Trail: This trail has great views of Red Rocks, and of the city from high atop the Dakota Ridge. Along with the views, there are also plenty of riding challenges along the way. Red Rocks Trail can be rocky and steep at times, and the Dakota ridge trail can be sandy and steep. The Dakota ridge is certainly the most technical part of the ride, so be careful. The whole park is only minutes from Denver, which makes it widely popular. Be prepared to yield to uphill riders and other hikers. The trailhead is located only a couple miles from historic Morrison, Colorado. Very small, but fun town. You will also ride past the notorious Red Rocks Amphitheater. If you have time and money, you must see a concert there. You ride during the day, and then go to a show at night in the same place you were riding. Makes for a great combination and an amazing day!!!!
Trail Description: From the trailhead/parking area head east out of the parking lot. Cross over Hwy. 26 and start an ascent up a wide dirt road. 0.4 miles, the dirt road comes to a switchback and the singletrack trail starts from there. Ascend up the ridge and soon you will be able to see both the tall red rocks to the West and Denver to the East. This section of trail encounters everything from very narrow singletrack to rock/root sections and stairs. This is by far the hardest part of the trail. If your new to mountain biking, suck it up and know that there are greener pastures beyond and if your advanced, enjoy because this is great technical riding that is real close to the city. 1.3 miles, Dakota Ridge intersects Hwy. 26 and you need to cross the road to connect to the last portion of Dakota Ridge trail which is a very short climb followed by a great singletrack downhill with switchbacks included. 1.9 miles, you need to cross the paved road and head up the road towards Red Rocks amphitheatre. This is only about an 800 ft section of pavement and then you should see a marked sign for the Red Rocks trailhead. This section of Red Rocks trail is a fun run of singletrack through a field. At 2.3 miles you need to cross a dirt road and immediately climb back onto Red Rocks trail. 2.5 miles, is the parking area for Red Rocks trail. From here you will start climbing and you have your choice of climbing all the way to the top with Morrison Slide trail of cutting that out by staying on the Red Rocks trail at 3.0 miles. For this description we will be traveling up the Morrison Slide trail. Morrison Slide trail is a leg burner and a lung burner with steep pitches rocky sections and tough switchbacks. Climb this section and it will flatten out towards the top for a short while before descending back to the Red Rocks trail junction at 4.4 miles. Keep descending until you reach a field that is mostly flat singletrack with a couple rollers thrown it. Speed isn't a problem with section of the course, however be careful of other trail users because this is a very popular trail for both hikers and mountain bikers. Follow this trail back to the trailhead at 6.3 miles.
