Please click here to jump to the Overview section with all tour details including pricing.

Colorado Gravel Tour: Highlights

Serving up a Mixed Dirt Salad!

Our Colorado Gravel Tour spins a high country route through the southern Colorado Rockies. This tour is designed for riders who are gravel curious following a mixture of less-technical gravel roads and pavement. This is our mixed dirt salad! This tour is designed to be a beginner level gravel route for the gravel curious road rider.

This is a beautiful tour on quiet roads in the wilds of the Colorado Rockies. Join this tour for great riding, summer swimming, fishing, campfires and more…

Lodging on the Colorado Gravel Tour can either be camping or lodged based. Please contact us for details.

Colorado Gravel Tour: Dates

Potential tour dates are listed below and not all tour dates will run. Lock in your preferred tour date early as unopened tour dates will be closed. Please see the Spring/Autumn Tour Calendar and the Summer Tour Calendar for confirmed departures. Any unopened date can be a Custom Week (9 riders required). Please contact us via email or call 970.728.5891

To easily register for a particular tour, please click the Book Now! link after the tour date listed below. This will select the tour name and the appropriate date on the registration form.

2024 Tour Dates

• August 18 to 22, 2024 (Book Now!)
• August 25 to 29, 2024 (Book Now!)

Tour Status Notes: NO STATUS = Date Set, no riders have signed up. TOUR OPENED = Tour Opened, rider minimums not met. TOUR A GO! = Tour is Go, rider minimums met. SOLD OUT = Tour Full, rider maximums met.

Why Should you Sign-Up Now and OPEN a Tour Date?
This is the proverbial chicken and the egg conundrum! We need our cyclists to first commit to the date that works for them so that we can commit to that date.

For starters, when you OPEN a date you get to pick your preferred departure date, and there is no penalty if the tour does not run. Once you pick your tour date, Lizard Head closes nearby dates and funnels all additional riders to your chosen date until the tour meets its 6 rider minimum.

BONUS: As an added bonus, we can also hold a spot for you on another tour date of your choosing. There is no fee to switch to another tour date.

In conclusion, if you want a tour to run, we need you to sign up and not wait for others to do the same! Waiting for others may mean that a tour date takes longer or does not confirm. Just Do It! Once a few riders jump into the proverbial waters, others will follow!

Colorado Gravel Tour: Overview

Tour Length: 5-Days/4-Nights

Starting/Ending Town: Gunnison, Colorado

Ability Level: Intermediate (2/3) to Upper Intermediate (3)

Tour Cost: $2,200 per person.

Tour Discounts: Please see our Reptile Rewards & Tour Discounts page to learn more about Reptile Rewards, Tour Discounts, and Group Discounts. Tour discounts are not stackable with any other discounts or promotions – only the highest valued discount is provided. Please note that for discounts to apply the tour minimum must be met.

Tour Includes: 5 days of guide service, 3 nights camping, 1 night lodging, gravel bike rental, all meals, forest service fees, energy food, liquid refreshments, shuttles and mechanical support. Alcoholic beverages and massage (if available) are additional.

Camping and Lodging for 4 Nights: (subject to change)

Note: Camping or Lodged Tour Options. Contact for Details

• Night 1: Camp at Hartman Rocks (elevation 8,000′)
• Night 2: Camp at Cebolla Creek (elevation 8,080′)
• Night 3: Camp at Spruce Campground (elevation 9,350′)
• Night 4: Alpine Moose Lodge, Lake City, Colorado (elevation 8,660′)

Gravel Bike Rentals

NOTE: The make, model, and specifications of rental bikes may differ from what is described below. Please contact us if you have any specific needs for a rental bike or have any questions about rental bikes.

Lizard Head Cycling Guides is proud to rent the Scott 2023 Addict 30 which is light, can handle rough terrain, fits chunky tires and has enough mounts to carry all the liquids and freeze-dried chicken curry you want. What's really important, though is what this bike allows you to do. Now, perhaps more than ever, the Addict Gravel 30 is your ticket to adventure when you need it most.

The Addict 30 features: Addict Gravel Disc HMF Carbon Gravel geometry, Shimano GRX 22 speed drivetrain, Shimano BR-RX400 hydraulic disc brakes, Schwalbe G-ONE Bite Performance 700x45C tires. Approx. Weight: 20.3 / 9.2 kg (without pedals)

☛ Learn more about our Rental Bikes and Equipment

If you have any further questions, please read more on our Rental Bikes FAQ page. You can also email us at info@lizardheadcyclingguides.com or call us at 970.728.5891

Meals On Tour

Lizard Head Cycling Guides provides most meals on all tours (unless otherwise noted) including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Guides will prepare a daily lunch en route for nearly every tour, both road and off-road, as well as provide nutritious snacks at periodic aid stations during the day.

Most of our road tours utilize local restaurants for all meals and occasionally guides may prepare a dinner or two during a tour. Due to the nature of being "off the grid", most of our off-road tours feature guide prepared meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. FUN NOTE: When guides prepare a meal in camp and the guests sit around and watch, this is called "Guide TV".

We also pride ourselves on being able to cater to specific dietary requests and needs, so rest assured that you will be able to get the nutrition that works best for you during your tour. Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, or a someone who loves it all – we will keep you well fed during the tour!

Lunches: Lizard Head Cycling Guides prepares healthy lunches to keep you going. We will serve you fresh organic fruits and veggies, salads, hummus, sandwich fixings, nuts, gourmet cheeses and, of course, plenty of salty/sweet snacks such as chips and cookies.

Dinners: On our road tours, Lizard Head Cycling sources our favorite restaurants in each town that we visit. Our guides focus on establishments that offer fresh and local ingredients and guests choose whatever they desire to eat off the menu including: appetizer, salad, entrée, and of course, dessert... yum! Also, while on tour if a guest wants to dine early before the group and go to bed, this is fine. We understand that on some days sleep is the most important post-ride element.

Overall Route Map

Below is an example of the daily routes for this tour and are subject to change based on season, available accommodations, road closures, and other factors. The actual routes will be made available to registered participants before their tour, so please view these routes as a general outline as to what to expect.

Colorado Gravel Tour: Itinerary*

*PLEASE NOTE: Tour itineraries are subject to change and modification based on the group, available accommodations, road construction, road closures, and other unforeseen circumstances including weather, wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, landslides and/or other acts of nature. Also, the distances and elevation profiles shown below may not reflect the actual distances and elevations while on tour as these are provided here to give an idea as to the anticipated mileage and terrain. Please view this itinerary, the distances, and elevation profiles as a general outline as to what to expect while on this tour.

Day 1: Crested Butte to Hartman’s Rocks in Gunnison 
40 miles with up to 1,775 feet of climbing (60% paved/40% gravel)

On Day 1 of the Crested Butte to Gunnison Gravel Tour we meet, fit our bikes, and ride the Ohio Creek Valley through the Elk Mountains to Gunnison, Colorado. This is very quiet ride that slopes downward for most of the journey.

For Day 1’s camping option, tonight we’ll find shelter at the  Hartman Rocks trail network to enjoy our first evening under the stars.

 

Day 2: Hartman Rocks to Cebolla Creek Camp via Gunnison River
21 miles with up to 810 feet of climbing (50% paved/50% gravel)

From our camp our Hartman Rocks we will roll out for a flat cruise along the Gunnison River. Before long, there will be a stop at a local’s swimming hole to immerse ourselves with a dip in the Gunnison.

After the swim, the route continues along the Gunnison River with a stop for lunch under the cottonwoods. After lunch we load up for a shuttle to Powderhorn, Colorado. The riding from Powderhorn is along a lovely dirt road alongside Cebolla Creek (pronounced seh-BOH-yah). Once in camp, there will be time to fish, swim, have a beer, and relax while the guides cook dinner. Tonight Cebolla Creek sings to us from our camp spot alongside its banks.

 

Day 3: Cebolla Creek to Spruce Campground
14 miles with up to 1,115 feet of climbing (100% gravel)

After breakfast ww will strike camp and head upstream through the “Cathedral” to Spruce camp. This is an area with soaring peaks, cliffs, and water. Our second campsite at Spruce Camp again has a stream in camp. In addition there is a cave, campfire, and fresh Colorado air. Enjoy an adult beverage while relaxing in summer freedom.

 

Day 4: Spruce Camp to Lake City
19 miles with up to 2,140 feet of climbing (55% paved/45% gravel)

On Day 4, we head up farther into the mountains climbing on a dirt road to about 11,000-feet. At the top, the views of the high Colorado Rockies are striking. We next descend 2,700 feet to the town of Lake City, Colorado for lodging.

 

Day 5: Lake City to Blue Mesa Reservoir
39 miles with up to 2,075 feet of climbing (57% paved/43% gravel)

On this final day we ride from Lake City, Colorado along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway to the Blue Mesa Cut-off. We will follow the cut off to Blue Mesa Reservoir to finish this tour.

After finishing this ride, we shuttle back to Gunnison, Colorado to the meeting/ending hotel.

 

Colorado Gravel Tour: Logistics & FAQs

General Tour & Cancellation Policies

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with all of our tour and cancellation policies, which can be found by clicking here.

Travel Insurance

If you have not already, now would be a great time to consider adding travel insurance to your tour. You are welcome to use any travel insurance company you would like. We recommend Generali/Trip Mate.

Generally, if contracting COVID causes clients to cancel or interrupt their tour, trip insurance companies would treat it as any other illness as long as it is contracted after the insurance was purchased. Please check your individual plan documentation for details. Please note that quarantine is usually only covered if clients are actually sick with COVID. If a state requires quarantine upon arrival because of standardized state law, coverage is generally not covered. Again, check your individual plan documentation for details.

American Guests - use this link: http://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/get-a-quote.html?partner=LIZA0855

• The Premium Plan is the only plan which offers Pre-Existing coverage so long as the plan is purchased prior to Final Payment.
• The Premium Plan is the only plan that offers an optional Cancel For Any Reason - the policy must be purchased within 24 hours of initial trip deposit, the full trip cost must be insured, and if they cancel for Any Reason, it must be 48 hours prior to departure, and the reimbursement for an Any Reason claim is 60% of pre-paid, insured, non-refundable trip cost.
• Customer Service can be reached at 1-800-874-2442 for coverage questions and policy modifications or to purchase by phone. Agency Code: LIZA0855

Canadian Guests - use this link: https://tripmate.catravelins.ca/?utm_source=lizardhead