Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route

The Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route runs 550 miles from the New Mexico border north to Wyoming, crossing terrain that rewards the prepared and punishes the overconfident. This is not a route you complete on a gravel bike with 40mm tires. You need something that handles sand washes, loose shale, and the kind of rocky doubletrack that rattles your fillings loose.

The route threads through the San Juan Mountains in the south — some of the highest rideable terrain in North America. Cinnamon Pass tops out at 12,640ft. Engineer Pass at 12,800ft. Both are rideable in good conditions and genuinely dangerous in bad ones. Afternoon thunderstorms in July and August are not optional — they happen every day at 2pm, sometimes earlier, and lightning at altitude is not a situation you want to negotiate with.

North of Gunnison, the route drops into drier terrain — high desert valleys, BLM land, and long exposed stretches where water sources are 40 miles apart. The northern sections through Middle Park and into Wyoming feel completely different from the alpine south: faster, more remote, less dramatic, and harder to stay motivated on.

Resupply is manageable. Durango, Lake City, Gunnison, Salida, and Steamboat Springs all fall close enough to the route that you can plan around them without massive detours. Cell service is intermittent at best. Download maps before you go and know how to read them offline.

Expect to average 55-70 miles per day on the accessible stretches and half that on the technical sections. Most riders take 12-16 days. A few fast-packers have done it in 8.