Photo Essay: Four Days in Fruita

After just recently returning from multiple trips in Brevard, we had no time to spare before we headed to Fruita for a 4-day trip this past weekend.  Mid-May in Fruita typically means absolutely perfect weather, spring blooms, and perfect singletrack.  And we found all of that, and more!  Packing in about 80 miles over the four days of riding, we put our riders to the test!

Day One: 18 Road Loops

The trails at 18 Road in Fruita lend themselves to a perfect “introduction” to the area, and a great way to warm up for the next three days.  With the trail system laid out so you can essentially do laps, we managed to hit all the favorites on Saturday afternoon: PBR, Zippity, Joe’s Ridge and MoJo’s.  18 miles and almost 2000 feet of rippin’ singletrack fun!

Day Two: Kokopelli Loops

The recent addition of new trails in the Kokopelli area meant we had options to switch things up on the second day, and that we did.  Over the course of 20+ miles we linked together Wrangler, Horsethief, Steve’s and Mack Ridge to give the crew a solid sampler of tech and flow.

Day Three: Lunch Loops in Grand Junction

After whetting the appetite for tech on Kokopelli, the third day saw us step things up as we headed east to Grand Junction for a Lunch Loops day.  The Lunch Loops are the perfect combination of technical riding mixed in with flowy singletrack; giving you some high-speed descents but checking that speed with chunk and tight, twisting tech.  The highlights of this ride included Gunny Loop, Eagle’s Wing and Holy Cross… three of the best trails anywhere in the west.

Day Four: Western Kokopelli

Slightly off the beaten path and away from the typical Kokopelli routes, the western side of the trail system offers a little more chunk and tech… but bigger views and empty trails.  On the last day, we managed to finish off this group of riders with around 12 miles and 1500 feet of sweet high-desert singletrack.  What a way to finish the trip!