Winding desert singletrack under towering walls with technical rock gardens contrasting with buff sandy paths among ancient stone dwellings – there really is nothing quite like Sand Canyon. It’s a rarity, being able to mountain bike in a national monument, and even more astonishing is how good the riding is.
Formerly called Canyons of the Ancients, these trails pull riders up and over slick rock terraces, edge along canyon rims and dive through desert arroyos among ancestral puebloan ruins from America’s Stone Age.
Thanks go to local trail advocacy group Kokopelli, now the Southwest Colorado Cycling Association) who pioneered much of the trail system pre-dating the monument designation, then worked with the feds to keep it open. It’s a dream come true for desert aficionados on two wheels.
“Sand Canyon really is a unique gem,” said Scott Darling, owner of Kokopelli Bike and Board in Cortez. “It’s a pretty special experience.”
Three main trails make up the system, all with their own flavor, and all fantastic. They can be linked together for a longer ride, or broken into shorter outings. Either way, it’s all good.
The namesake and older Sand Canyon Trail is most enjoyed as an 8-plus mile out and back, calling it at a 30- siwtchback ascent that is not ridable. With several hiking spurs that lead into other desert worlds, it’s filled with cliff dwellings, many right along the trail. You’ll find pristine desert ecology with a sense of remoteness that you may not find in the nearby national park and its millions of visitors each year.
East Rock Creek is a 7-mile loop that offers the be riding. Ridden either direction, it serves up an experience that many people drive hours farther to find. The trail climbs, winds, drops and bends, and there’s even an arch as well as more visible ruins and side canyons.
“It’s a little more challenging, but it’s not over the top,” Darling said.
West Rock Creek is must do. In a few sections, it skirts a wash with close proximity and at times the 3.5-mile uber-fun loop has subtle “are we lost” feeling” to it. Both loops climb up to a point then rip off into the other direction.