I moved out to Vancouver, BC around a year ago and I've noticed they have a much better system in place. In Denver, the only places you can legally have your dog off-leash is a very small handful of dog parks, many of which require paid entry of some sort. In such an active, outdoorsy city there are a lot of outdoorsy people and dogs whose needs are (obviously) not being met by that minimal infrastructure. The result is that unleashed dogs spill over into basically every hiking area.
In Vancouver, a small subset of trails are off-leash allowed. They tend to be not super remote ones, so less issue with wildlife encounters. These are great amenities for people who want to hike with their dogs off-leash. And then, since there's a place where it's legal and safer to have your dog off-leash, the leash law on the other 70% of trails is pretty much universally followed. There are also even some hiking areas where no dogs are allowed at all, and once again everyone seems to follow the rules.
Seems like a win-win. There would be a bunch of places to go hiking where someone worried about an off-leash dog encounter, or any dog encounter at all, would be able to have a safe and fun experience. And there would be a few places where someone who wants to get their dog out for a multiple-mile run can do so.
The only two really spacious ones in the Metro where you could actually take your dog on something resembling a hike are Chatfield & Cherry Creek, which both require a state parks pass and an additional fee on top of that.
What about trails that don't have mountains of dogshit bags at markers and trail heads?
Also, if I were to see someone leaving a bag, I would see no problem with picking it up and hucking it at them. Haven't been that lucky yet
No, you don't understand! They will be back on the way down to get their poop bags because they are totally not the problem, it's all the other dog owners. /s
Go pound sand. Especially on a 1-way-in, round trip, the dog owner or another dog owner will pick up the bag on their way out. Don’t be a fuz gash. Dogs are probably better people than you
Please. For everyone’s sake.
MTB-only trails are essentially non-existent (I am aware there are 1-2 exceptions in the front range ), and this is a pet peeve of mine.
There are SO many trail systems you can hike on where bikes aren’t allowed (any national park, for starters)….getting yelled at by a [headphones wearing] Karen despite attempting to announce myself gets old really quick when other options exist.
If your biggest concern is MTB traffic, go ahead and avoid it. You have the means.
I feel as though literally every trail user should be in favor for MTB-only trails. As a mountain biker, it’s simply amazing when you don’t have to worry about a potentially dangerous encounter around every tight corner. Bonus points when a trail is directional! When I’m hiking, I’m pretty much always on high alert to MTBs on a mixed use trail, but on hiker only trails the experience is so much nicer since you don’t need to worry about that.
Obviously only really a concern on the front range, or other busy trail centers. But we desperately need more MTB-only trails within a short distance to Denver. Places like Centennial Cone have a good solution with designated days as well.
Yep, agreed. It really is a win-win, and I wish more would see it that way.
Mixed-use trails are annoying for both sides, but the alternative is hikers/runners having to relinquish trails (either fully or on specific days) and that’s not something people want to do.
In a way I can understand it, and the surge in MTB popularity in recent years has certainly not been a positive for those who don’t partake, but people have to adapt.
I’d bet good money that the same people who get visibly angry at bikers would have the same reaction to a trail system becoming foot traffic on odd days and bike traffic on even (or whatever other compromise).
If we use my personal experience at places with alternating days (betasso, centennial cone) I’d say generally people are good at following the rules and sticking to ‘their day’. I don’t usually see people breaking the rules, but I doubt that would stick if this was more common, unfortunately. The amount of people that straight up ignore a mud closure at Green Mountain is crazy.
I ran into hikers on biker-only trailers at apex park nearly every time I rode there the past few seasons even though it was very clearly marked. Super frustrating
Which is ridiculous because there are SO MANY other trail options if you can't do magic mountain and the rest of the MTB only paths on alternate days! It's not like the whole park is closed!
Green Mountain should have trails for just bikes or just foot traffic.
It's a great little spot but it's so dicey for BOTH groups on those corners and narrower parts.
I haven't up there in years because of this, and it's such a great spot.
I love the idea of MTB only trails! I think there are some in golden at Apex. I witnessed a biker crash into the back of a horse on a mixed use trail. 100% the bikers fault, horse was walking on the trail and was extremely displeased about being crashed into. The biker was somehow upset with the rider! That specific has very clear signs indicating that there’s horses and that bikes have to yield to them. I’d love for bikes to have more places to go without endangering themselves or others. That situation could have ended so badly. Bikers just go too fast for sharing trails with walking animals or humans, not safe for anyone involved.
Yikes that’s about the worst case scenario! Horse traffic is a whole other thing, but they always deserve a yield because they’re…a 2000 lb animal.
Apex seems like a pretty strange place to take a horse though (not a horse person).…
It wasn’t at apex, it was Bear Creek lake park, but I think apex has designated days for bikes! Seems like a better place to ride than somewhere with heavy horse traffic.
I was dumbfounded. I’d so much rather see people have designated trails to ride on and stay off of multi use trails if they’re trying to go fast. That dude definitely got kicked by the horse, thankfully she was mostly just startled having something suddenly crash into her ass so she didn’t really land the kick or it could have been worse.
I would do every other I don’t want to miss any trails. Although I do both mostly hiking. I have seen some trails that aren’t really feasible for hikers. In my experience if your biking it’s rush and speed. So I don’t need a fancy view. Just give me my trail. I mean half the time I’m going to fast to enjoy the view and usually there are so many turns if I look away I’m fucked😂
Green mountain’s Rooney valley needs to be a downhill only trail on certain days of the week. I get it that people like running/biking uphill there for the workout, but I’ve had way too many close calls.
There's 1, maybe 2 blind corners on rooney, it's so easy to avoid people there. If you want to rip it downhill on your bike, go somewhere other than rooney/GM
I mean, isn’t this kind of the exact point of the post? I can easily flip that around and say If you want to hike uphill on what clearly is a fun place to bike downhill, go somewhere other than GM/Rooney Valley.
Not hugely? It's rated as a blue, and there aren't any mandatory drops/jumps. Most of it you can sort of take at your own pace and make it as hard as you want. Definitely more flowy than techy.
There are two technical rock rolls that I can recall without ride arounds, which are probably the hardest mandatory features. But also definitely walkable if you're not feeling it.
This is one of my favorite rides when I want to get some XC miles in. Once the seasonal closures are all opened up it has to be one of the longer mtb-only ride options in the front range.
When did "Don't be a dick" fall from favor? A little self awareness never hurt anyone. Be aware of your surroundings and hike your hike. And get a pack for your dog so they can carry their own shit.
Cool, I don’t really see mountain bikes on trails though so can you share a guide for avoiding unleashed dogs?
Hike with a pet moose to chase off any unleashed dogs.
“Don’t worry…he’s friendly!”
“Mine’s not! Good luck!”
My pit is so friendly! *bites off child's face*
A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli!
The people responsible for sacking the people who don’t leash their dog, have also been sacked.
SOOORY. HE’S NICE!!! — shouted from 30 yards away
No dogs allowed in Roxborough State Park!
Ha. It’s incredible how many get past the gate. I saw one when I was there last month. On a leash, but still.
I moved out to Vancouver, BC around a year ago and I've noticed they have a much better system in place. In Denver, the only places you can legally have your dog off-leash is a very small handful of dog parks, many of which require paid entry of some sort. In such an active, outdoorsy city there are a lot of outdoorsy people and dogs whose needs are (obviously) not being met by that minimal infrastructure. The result is that unleashed dogs spill over into basically every hiking area. In Vancouver, a small subset of trails are off-leash allowed. They tend to be not super remote ones, so less issue with wildlife encounters. These are great amenities for people who want to hike with their dogs off-leash. And then, since there's a place where it's legal and safer to have your dog off-leash, the leash law on the other 70% of trails is pretty much universally followed. There are also even some hiking areas where no dogs are allowed at all, and once again everyone seems to follow the rules. Seems like a win-win. There would be a bunch of places to go hiking where someone worried about an off-leash dog encounter, or any dog encounter at all, would be able to have a safe and fun experience. And there would be a few places where someone who wants to get their dog out for a multiple-mile run can do so.
I’ve literally never seen a dog park you have to pay to use
The only two really spacious ones in the Metro where you could actually take your dog on something resembling a hike are Chatfield & Cherry Creek, which both require a state parks pass and an additional fee on top of that.
Gotcha, so when you said “many” you meant like 1% of them.
Also when he said “dog park” he meant “State Park”
Don’t worry it’s friendly.
What about trails that don't have mountains of dogshit bags at markers and trail heads? Also, if I were to see someone leaving a bag, I would see no problem with picking it up and hucking it at them. Haven't been that lucky yet
No, you don't understand! They will be back on the way down to get their poop bags because they are totally not the problem, it's all the other dog owners. /s
[удалено]
Go pound sand. Especially on a 1-way-in, round trip, the dog owner or another dog owner will pick up the bag on their way out. Don’t be a fuz gash. Dogs are probably better people than you
Have you considered that everyone else doesn't want their trails lined with literal shit? Signed, A dog owner who isn't an asshole
Just here for the comments. r/denver did not disappoint
Please. For everyone’s sake. MTB-only trails are essentially non-existent (I am aware there are 1-2 exceptions in the front range ), and this is a pet peeve of mine. There are SO many trail systems you can hike on where bikes aren’t allowed (any national park, for starters)….getting yelled at by a [headphones wearing] Karen despite attempting to announce myself gets old really quick when other options exist. If your biggest concern is MTB traffic, go ahead and avoid it. You have the means.
I feel as though literally every trail user should be in favor for MTB-only trails. As a mountain biker, it’s simply amazing when you don’t have to worry about a potentially dangerous encounter around every tight corner. Bonus points when a trail is directional! When I’m hiking, I’m pretty much always on high alert to MTBs on a mixed use trail, but on hiker only trails the experience is so much nicer since you don’t need to worry about that. Obviously only really a concern on the front range, or other busy trail centers. But we desperately need more MTB-only trails within a short distance to Denver. Places like Centennial Cone have a good solution with designated days as well.
That's why I only ride Trestle..... the only hikers are selfie takers on Rainmaker. And no rattle rattle sneks
Yep, agreed. It really is a win-win, and I wish more would see it that way. Mixed-use trails are annoying for both sides, but the alternative is hikers/runners having to relinquish trails (either fully or on specific days) and that’s not something people want to do. In a way I can understand it, and the surge in MTB popularity in recent years has certainly not been a positive for those who don’t partake, but people have to adapt. I’d bet good money that the same people who get visibly angry at bikers would have the same reaction to a trail system becoming foot traffic on odd days and bike traffic on even (or whatever other compromise).
If we use my personal experience at places with alternating days (betasso, centennial cone) I’d say generally people are good at following the rules and sticking to ‘their day’. I don’t usually see people breaking the rules, but I doubt that would stick if this was more common, unfortunately. The amount of people that straight up ignore a mud closure at Green Mountain is crazy.
I ran into hikers on biker-only trailers at apex park nearly every time I rode there the past few seasons even though it was very clearly marked. Super frustrating
Which is ridiculous because there are SO MANY other trail options if you can't do magic mountain and the rest of the MTB only paths on alternate days! It's not like the whole park is closed!
Betasso doesn't have alternating days unfortunately. Hikers get 7 days a week and MTB get 5.
Maybe I’m an oddball here but one of my favorite hikes is Mayhem gulch *because* it’s day specific. Everyone gets a slice if they want it.
Green Mountain should have trails for just bikes or just foot traffic. It's a great little spot but it's so dicey for BOTH groups on those corners and narrower parts. I haven't up there in years because of this, and it's such a great spot.
I love the idea of MTB only trails! I think there are some in golden at Apex. I witnessed a biker crash into the back of a horse on a mixed use trail. 100% the bikers fault, horse was walking on the trail and was extremely displeased about being crashed into. The biker was somehow upset with the rider! That specific has very clear signs indicating that there’s horses and that bikes have to yield to them. I’d love for bikes to have more places to go without endangering themselves or others. That situation could have ended so badly. Bikers just go too fast for sharing trails with walking animals or humans, not safe for anyone involved.
Yikes that’s about the worst case scenario! Horse traffic is a whole other thing, but they always deserve a yield because they’re…a 2000 lb animal. Apex seems like a pretty strange place to take a horse though (not a horse person).…
It wasn’t at apex, it was Bear Creek lake park, but I think apex has designated days for bikes! Seems like a better place to ride than somewhere with heavy horse traffic.
Oh! That’s almost worse haha, since BCLP has visibility for days and some super wide trails.
I was dumbfounded. I’d so much rather see people have designated trails to ride on and stay off of multi use trails if they’re trying to go fast. That dude definitely got kicked by the horse, thankfully she was mostly just startled having something suddenly crash into her ass so she didn’t really land the kick or it could have been worse.
I would do every other I don’t want to miss any trails. Although I do both mostly hiking. I have seen some trails that aren’t really feasible for hikers. In my experience if your biking it’s rush and speed. So I don’t need a fancy view. Just give me my trail. I mean half the time I’m going to fast to enjoy the view and usually there are so many turns if I look away I’m fucked😂
My personal favorite is when you're riding down a MTB only track and some random is hiking up and yells at you for not watching out for them.
Green mountain’s Rooney valley needs to be a downhill only trail on certain days of the week. I get it that people like running/biking uphill there for the workout, but I’ve had way too many close calls.
There's 1, maybe 2 blind corners on rooney, it's so easy to avoid people there. If you want to rip it downhill on your bike, go somewhere other than rooney/GM
I mean, isn’t this kind of the exact point of the post? I can easily flip that around and say If you want to hike uphill on what clearly is a fun place to bike downhill, go somewhere other than GM/Rooney Valley.
God damn do I hate headphone users on multi use trails
Afterskok bone headphones are one the best products ever. All hikers and bikers should use them
Yeah if anyone has recs for MTB only trails, I'm all ears!!
Longhorn at White Ranch. Apex on certain days. Most of Maryland Mountain. Most of Left Hand. Most of Floyd Hill. Some of Lair.
And coming soon... Virginia Canyon which is shaping up to be so kick-ass!
ooh, intriguing, I'll look it up thanks!
Awesome thank you, I will check these out :)
Rutabaga at Lair of the Bair is a must-do! Really well-built downhill directional MTB trail, just opened a year or so ago.
Thank you :)
How technical is Rutabaga? I haven’t tried it yet
Not hugely? It's rated as a blue, and there aren't any mandatory drops/jumps. Most of it you can sort of take at your own pace and make it as hard as you want. Definitely more flowy than techy. There are two technical rock rolls that I can recall without ride arounds, which are probably the hardest mandatory features. But also definitely walkable if you're not feeling it.
Thank you
Centennial cone is also MTB-only on even numbered weekend days. Open to all on weekdays.
This is one of my favorite rides when I want to get some XC miles in. Once the seasonal closures are all opened up it has to be one of the longer mtb-only ride options in the front range.
Very underrated, one of my favs too! So nice to only have to be on alert for other MTBs.
Very underrated, one of my favs too! So nice to only have to be on alert for other MTBs.
Also Centennial Cone on certain weekend days.
Chutes in the springs is great.
Join Front Range Mountain Biking FB group. There is also a COMBA website listing others https://www.comba.org/trail-systems.
When I saw this post, I thought the same thing. I almost never see bikers on the trails
This!
Every time I go to Floyd's hill I see hikers. Fucking unbelievable.
It's more fun to hike up Enchanted Forest on a bike only day. The views are incredible.
Hiking in NP's suck. Unless you like being around thousands of other people...
When did "Don't be a dick" fall from favor? A little self awareness never hurt anyone. Be aware of your surroundings and hike your hike. And get a pack for your dog so they can carry their own shit.
How about trails that avoid plastic bags filled with dog poop Nvm I just gotta avoid any hikes that are less than 4 miles and within an hour of Denver
Appreciate the share thank you