For those with the passion for heat, a visit to the hot mineral springs in Glenwood are a must before you start your weeklong journey. Try to arrive a few hours early to enjoy the historic town and the soothing hot springs.

During the course of this adventure, we climb McClure and Keebler Pass and enjoy the peaceful surrounding of Redstone and Marble. We will tour the agricultural regions of western Colorado; climb the Grand Mesa; overnight in Crested Butte; enjoy the vistas from the plateaus of The Colorado Monument and bike the Rio Grande Trail.

Highlights include: Grand Junction, the Colorado National Monument, Wine and orchard country, Grand Mesa, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

We skirt through groves of aspen trees as we continue our trip up and over Grand Mesa. Grand Mesa covers most of the skyline when we look up from small western Colorado towns. Grand Mesa is situated between the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers and is the camping and hiking playground of western Colorado. Most of the mesa sits at elevations greater than 10,000 feet and covers some 500 square miles.

Most of Colorado’s vineyards and orchards are located in the valley near the Colorado River and skirt the hillsides along the Grand Valley and Orchard Mesa, near Palisade. Colorado boasts more than 80 vineyards growing at the highest altitudes in the US. We will have ample time to sample the wines from this region for two evenings, while staying in Palisade/Grand Junction area.

The namesake of this tour “Colorado National Monument” is the highlight and the grand finale to the week.

Add this tour to our two weeks prior to create your Epic Colorado bike tour.