Downhill mountain biking in Colorado holds a special place in the heart of many biking enthusiasts. You get all the gravity-fueled downhill adrenaline without all the uphill sweat and tears—what’s not to like?
While there’s a certain pleasure in grinding your way to the top of a mountain, there’s a time and place for cruising to the peak on a lift. It’s a great opportunity to hone your downhill skills, put in tons of miles, and just have a super-duper good time.
Convinced?
Easy enough, right? Now, the hard part is figuring out where to go. With so many downhill mountain biking options in Colorado, it’s difficult to narrow it down to one.
And we’re not necessarily going to help with that problem, either. Below, we’ve outlined the best downhill mountain biking parks and trails in Colorado. The first 13 focus on resort-esque downhill mountain biking, while the last 4 give you a taste of something a little bit different.
You’re welcome!
Best Downhill Mountain Biking Parks in Colorado
First, let’s give you a taste of what to expect at these downhill mountain biking destinations in Colorado. You’ll likely approach the resort or lift and see armored warriors with full-face helmets and padding preparing for battle.
Don’t panic.
Some resorts require this protective gear, while others don’t. If you’re not going after the beastly black trails, you’ll probably be OK—but it’s not bad to be on the safe side and go over the top with protection. Fortunately, you don’t have to ride up with it all on, so there’s that perk.
While you won’t have the challenge of going uphill, don’t think your downhill day will be a walk in the park (we’re mountain biking, remember?). Bring tons of food and water to keep yourself nourished out there—or prepare to drop some serious cash on resort food—your choice.
1. Telluride Downhill Bike Park
Get a taste of the rocky San Juan Mountains trails and views from the top of Telluride Bike Park. You’ll get a smooth ride to the top on the town’s complimentary gondola service and then cruise down miles and miles of narrow, heart-pounding singletrack trails.
There’s a good mix of everything for everyone, with a handful of green and blue trails, but this resort is primarily for experienced riders eyeing black trails (as is Telluride ski resort). Telluride Bike Park is also a good access point for some longer backcountry bike rides—a great way to end the day and cruise back into town.
2. Purgatory Bike Park
Purgatory Bike Park joins Durango’s epic list of nationally acclaimed trails. It brings the best-of-the-best mountain biking terrain to a chairlift near you. Bridges, wall rides, berms, tabletops, drops, and jumps—you name it, Purgatory’s got it.
Looking for something a bit more mellow? Don’t worry: there are more gradual trails for kids or newcomers to the sport.
3. Copper Mountain Bike Park
Copper Mountain turns its family-friendly ski village into a sunshine-filled mountain biking destination in the summer. Take the lift or grab a Peddle Up Pass to explore all that the mountain has to offer. True to its family-friendly appeal, you’ll find trails for all skill levels on top of the mountain.
Plus, Copper Mountain is just a great place to chill and spend warm summer days. Enjoy the climbing wall, go-karts, zip lines, trampolines, skate parks, disc golf, and more.
Now, that’s active recovery.
4. Keystone Downhill Mountain Biking Park
Looking to take your downhill mountain biking skills to the next level? Ride on over to Keystone Bike Park. This singletrack wonderland has more than 100 miles of trails with features like rock gardens, berms, wooden features, big jumps, massive drops, and more.
While you can surely find some beginner-friendly terrain, it’s not the norm here. Save your easy days for Copper Mountain, and get ready to lose your tish at Keystone Bike Park.
5. Trestle Mountain Bike Park
Trestle Bike Park makes its home on the humble mountains of Winter Park Ski Resort, and it’s a gnarly good time. With over 40 miles of lift-serviced trails, you’ll need more than a day to taste everything this bike park has to offer.
The masterminds behind world-renowned Whistler Mountain Bike Park had their hands in crafting these trails. You’ll find wooden trestles, manicured miles of singletrack, and berms on berms on berms here. Green, blue, black—Trestle Bike Park has it all. It’s the perfect location to progress from first-timer to old-timer.
6. Bike Granby Ranch
Ditch the crowds and head out deep into the mountains to explore Bike Granby Ranch. This might not have the heavily manicured trails of larger bike parks like Trestle Mountain and Keystone, but it’s not lacking on sweat-driven fun.
Everything at Bike Granby Ranch feels a bit more rugged and extreme. While there are plenty of cross-country trails to explore, you’ll also have opportunities for flowy, techy trails with tight corners and stomach-clenching drops. It’s a roller coaster, alright, and we like it. We like it a lot.
7. Vail Mountain Resort Bike Park
Take a leisurely stroll through Vail’s aspen forests and enjoy endless mountain views. You can find technical trails and features, but that’s not the primary scene at Vail.
Vail Mountain is more for putting in long, smooth miles on less-than-technical trails. It’s the perfect family-friendly location for newcomers to the sport that don’t want to accidentally end up taking a 20-foot drop.
8. Crested Butte Bike Park
Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park features over 30+ miles of beautiful, buttery lift-served singletrack. Delicious. They designed the park to offer the perfect progression from beginner to advanced riders, with the lift serving everything from extreme downhill trails to cross-country rides.
Experts: Take a trip down Crusader, a gnarly black diamond trail featuring man-made berms and wooden drops. You’ll first dodge through a tight, windy forest before reaching more flowy trails and drops towards the second half.
Beginners: Enjoy a no-stress ride down Hotdogger, a fun trip through forests, meadows, and rollers.
9. Snowmass Bike Park
Get ready to get vertical on Snowmass Village’s 25 miles of purpose-built mountain biking trails featuring 3,000 vertical feet of descent. Plus, the surrounding area promises 50 miles of cross-country trails, giving everyone a taste of big fun and big views.
Feeling up for a challenge? Bumble your way down Animals Crackers, a technical trail with narrow space, steep drops, rock gardens, and off-camber traverses. Want to keep things mellow? Make your way down Verde, an easy trail with gentle turns and opportunities to hone your cornering skills with low(er) risk.
10. Breckenridge Mountain
Breckenridge Mountain offers a variety of terrain, but it’s primarily geared toward the more experienced riders. Speaking of which—if you’re visiting in the summer of 2023, know this:
“Due to construction work to upgrade Rip’s Ride, there will be no beginner mountain biking trail access at the resort this summer.”
11. Powderhorn Bike Park
Powderhorn Bike Park is a downhill mountain biking hidden gem on top of Grand Mesa. It provides over 13 miles of downhill trails across green, blue, and black trails—and the park also provides uphill routes if you want to feel the burn before you taste the breeze.
12. Steamboat Bike Park
Steamboat’s long been known for its cross-country mountain biking and multi-use trail system, but it’s taking things to the next level with more intentional downhill mountain biking trails at the resort. Things are still developing, and you’ll see numerous construction projects going on around the mountain during the summer, but there are plenty of lift-served trails to tackle.
Steamboat Bike Park features downhill terrain with over 2,200 feet of vertical descent, meaning you get a nice long ride to the bottom, regardless of which trail you choose.
13. Beaver Creek Bike Park
Beaver Creek Bike Park makes it home in the mountains behind Avon, Colorado. The park provides singletrack trails for riders of all levels with mind-blowingly expansive views. Most of the trails aren’t too gnarly, and it’s an excellent place for beginners to progress. The park also has plenty of uphill routes if you want to earn your turns.
Best Downhill Mountain Biking Trails (That Aren’t Resort Parks)
14. Arapahoe Basin Trails
Arapahoe Basin (more commonly called A-Basin) features some of the state’s highest alpine mountain biking terrain—but you’ll have to earn it. While you’ll find plenty of downhill-only trails on the mountain (and mountain bike-only—thank goodness), A-Basin doesn’t offer lift service for bikes.
You’ll have to earn your turns.
It makes every descent that much more rewarding, and it also keeps the big crowds away. You’ll have more descents to yourself and fewer people to gawk as you send it big down rocky, alpine trails.
15. Floyd Hill Open Space
Floyd Hill Open Space isn’t necessarily a park, but it’s a great place to hit some gnarly downhill-only singletrack trails. You have to earn your turns with an easy climb to the top (with optional loops at the top), but the single route to the base provides dozens of different riding opportunities.
At its easiest, it’s probably a blue run, but there are tons of options for drops, jumps, and overall rocky craziness if you want to test your mettle.
16. Maryland Mountain Open Space Park
Maryland Mountain Open Space Park is a relatively new addition to the Front Range mountain biking world, and it makes its home in Blackhawk, Colorado.
There are plenty of options for descent with easy rides to the top. No lift, though. Sorry. You’ll have to earn your turns here, but the adrenaline-filled descents are well worth the climbs.
17. Valmont Bike Park
Valmont Bike Park lies in the heart of Boulder, Colorado, and it’s a terrain park with a mix of natural and man-made features to progress your skills. You’ll find everything from slalom courses to berms to wooden walls to jumps and drops. It has cross-country trails, rock gardens, and fun features like see-saws to test your balance and coordination.
Discover Colorado’s Mountain Biking Hidden Gems
Colorado has some of the most fun, extreme, and versatile mountain biking terrain in the country. The same trail can include everything from red rocks and cactuses to thick pine forests and expansive views—you get a bit of everything.
Want to discover more of Colorado’s hidden downhill mountain biking gems? Subscribe to the Unknown Colorado newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best-of-the-best trails across the state.
