Glenwood Canyon Trail (Lower section)

The Glenwood Canyon Trail follows the Colorado River for 18 miles (one way.) The trail is paved and we saw bikers, joggers, dog walkers, and fishermen enjoying the scenery. Observing the rafts, kayaks, canoes, and inner tubes tackling the whitewater of the river was also interesting. Picnic tables and restroom facilities are available at the five I-70 rest stops along the trail.



It is a feat of engineering marvel (in fact winning an award in 1993) that the canyon has been developed in such a well thought out manner that a bike trail, an Interstate highway, and a railroad mainline, all travel the narrow Glenwood Canyon with minimal disturbance to the Colorado River and the canyon.



The planning and foresight of many people over 15 years went into the plan for building I-70 to minimize impact to the environment. Here you see the two directions of traffic cantilevered to fit them in and reduce the highway's footprint.



Except for a long uphill pedal about a mile from Glenwood Springs, the grades on the trail are nearly negligible, and the total elevation change from starting elevation to finishing elevation is only 300 feet over the 18 mile length of the trail. The steepest drop of the river is just east of the power plant, and Ellen watches the water plummeting over the rocks . It looks like an extreme kayakers dream, but none were there, so I assumed this upper section of the canyon is off limits to paddlers. But when we biked the upper section the next day, a forest ranger explained that since kayakers must carry their craft a long way to reach this section, few paddle it, though some occasionally do. It would be interesting watching that!



Here a raft negotiates one of the many rapids. I saw a solo canoe capsize here, but that was the only mishap.



Yes, Scott, I saw Amtrak -- twice in fact. I saw both the westbound and eastbound runs, as well as east and westbound coal trains.

This is indeed one of the premier bike trails I've found in my travels across the country. This was my fourth ride on it, and I'll be back again!

Photos/info on Upper Glenwood Canyon Trail