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

Gateway & Wine Country Loop: Highlights

Gateway & Wine Country Loop: 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.

This tour is well suited for custom groups. Please contact us to learn more.

2024 Tour Dates

• September 1 to 4, 2023 (Book Now!)
• September 8 to 11, 2023 (Book Now!)
• September 15 to 18, 2023 (Book Now!)
• September 22 to 25, 2023 (Book Now!)

• October 6 to 9, 2024 (Book Now!)
• October 13 to 16, 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!

Gateway & Wine Country Loop: Overview

Tour Length: 4-Days Cycling/3-Nights Lodging

Meeting/Ending Town: Grand Junction, Colorado (Grand Junction Regional Airport – GJT)

Total Miles: 185 to 225 miles (additional mileage options available)

Mileage Range: 38 to 74

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

Tour Cost: $2,125 per person with shared accommodations. Add $450 per person to this Tour Cost for a private room each night of the tour (3-Nights).

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: 4-Days guide service, 3-Nights lodging, all meals, entrance fees, energy food, liquid refreshments, in-tour shuttles, and mechanical support. Alcoholic beverages, bike rental, and massage (if available) are additional.

Non-Riding Spouses & Partners on Tour: If a non-riding spouse or partner would like to join you on tour and they have their own transportation, they can stay in your room for the cost of the tour's single room supplement. Please note that non-riders cannot check into hotels prior to guide arrival as the guides need to manage the check-in process. Checking in a large group can be challenging and take longer than normal, so non-riders need to hang back and be patient. Non-riding spouses and partners are welcome to join the Lizard Head meal plan which includes breakfasts and dinners for $75 per day. Note: Lunches are not included for non-riders driving their own vehicles due to the inherent variability of both lunch timing and locations. It is best for non-riders to plan to explore each day.

Lodging for 3 Nights: (subject to change)

• Night 1: Wine Country Inn, Palisade, CO (elevation 4,730′)
• Nights 2 & 3: Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa, Gateway, CO (elevation 4,590′)

Meeting Hotel and Ending Hotel reservations and costs are NOT included unless specified otherwise. Guests are on-their-own to make reservations at the Meeting Hotel or Ending Hotel, or other nearby hotels.

Custom Tour Add-Ons: Add another day to this tour on Day 2 to enjoy riding the The Palisade Fruit & Wine Byway. Or add another Day to this tour at Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa to enjoy the resort. The cost for each additional day is $450 per person.

Road 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 Scott Bikes. The Scott Addict 10 Disc was designed from the ground up with those longer days in mind. With geometry that is less focused on racing and more on enduring, the Addict 10 will be your go to when you’re looking to put the miles in.

The Scott Addict 10 Disc features: Carbon Frame and Fork, Shimano Ultegra 2x11 Drivetrain, 34x32 Compact Gearing, 30mm Tires, and Hydraulic Disc Brakes. Approx. Weight: 16.89 lbs / 7.66 kg (without pedals)

☛ Learn more about our Rental Bikes and Equipment

Road E-Bike Rentals: Click Here for more information on our Road E-Bike Rentals including pricing. Please note that E-Bikes are not available for certain tours including those that involve camping. Please contact us for more information before registering for a tour. NOTE: E-Bikes are great, but our tours are designed to be ridden without motorized assistance. We offer "bumps" along the road so that everyone can stay together.

Tandems and Recumbents: Lizard Head Cycling Guides happily accommodates both tandem and recumbent bikes on our tours.

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

Gateway & Wine Country Loop: 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: Colorado National Monument
38 miles with up to 3,650 feet of climbing
E.F.I. option of up to 65 miles

The tour begins with a ride on Rim Rock Drive in Colorado National Monument. This 23-mile route follows the redrock rim nearly 2,000 feet up a series of canyons above the Rio Colorado. The entire road has been designated a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places and was named by National Geographic as one of the country’s Top 10 Under-Appreciated Parks. During the 1980s, Rim Rock Drive was host to a classic mountain stage of the Coors Classic Stage Race dubbed The Tour of the Moon where Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond battled it out on this scenic road.

Part way on our ride through Colorado National Monument we will divert west towards Glade Park, turn-around, and then return back to Colorado National Monument to descend down through multiple tunnels and end the ride at the Tabagueche Trailhead. From here it is a short shuttle to Palisades, Colorado and out loding at the Wine Country Inn.

Day 2: Unaweep Canyon to Gateway
43 miles with up to 2,775 feet of climbing

After a morning shuttle from Palisades, cyclists start the dat by riding into the stunning confines of Unaweep Canyon. Unaweep Canyon is quite possibly the most spectacular road ride in all of Colorado and it is also one of the least known roads in the state. Geologically speaking Unaweep was at one time a river channel of the Colorado River before the massive uplift of the Uncompahgre Plateau diverted the river’s course.

Today cyclists enjoy riding the road where the river once traveled and although smaller in scale, the experience is akin to riding a bike through the Grand Canyon. The splendid desert hideaway of Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa (opened in 2005 on the Dolores River) in Gateway, Colorado awaits us for dinner and lodging. The beauty of Gateway Canyons Resort must be seen to be believed.

Day 3: Dolores River Canyon
74 miles with up to 3,730 feet of climbing

We consider the first segment of the route today to be the most beautiful section of road on all of our tours. The route follows the dazzling scenery of Highway 141 southward and the first 25-miles from Gateway Canyons resort are beneath 1,500-foot Redrock Canyon walls and alongside the Dolores River. Many of our guests have called this section the “most beautiful ride” they have ever enjoyed.

Views of the Hanging Flume are visible from Highway 141. The flume is an engineering feat of over 100 years ago and also one of the world’s most extraordinary monuments to human greed and folly. Its purpose was to deliver water to a placer gold mine. Construction started in 1889 and a million board feet of lumber was used. The mine went bankrupt in the early 1890s. Today travelers are awe struck at the lengths gone into the creation of this means to convey water.

Our turn-around point is at the San Miguel River Preserve where we have lunch and then return back to Gateway Canyons Resort along the same stretch of amazing road, this time from a different perspective.

Day 4: Unaweep Canyon to Whitewater
43 miles with up to 2,995 feet of climbing

Starting from Gateway Canyons Resort we pedal north along Highway 141 through the magnificent Unaweep Canyon. In the spring and after rain storms there are multiple waterfalls on the west side of the canyon. Look for a waterfall near milepost 122 and then again near milepost 132 at Fall Creek. After reacing the summit of Unaweep Divide, it is a near 20 mile descent to Whitewater where we end the rid and the tour.

Gateway & Wine Country Loop: 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