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Colorado Springs Mountain Bike Trails

By
Real Estate Agent with SpringsHomes

Entrance To Greenland Open SpaceThe Greenland Open Space is a nice addition to the already great trails that exist in Northern El Paso County and Southern Douglas County, Colorado. Greenland is an easy to moderate hike, bike or ride with a combination of flat sections and some moderate to steepish rolling hills all for the most part well groomed. This is a great place to take the kids or inexperienced mountain bike riders.

This 3,600 acres of open space and trails is due to the good deeds of a large number of people. This area was donated to Douglas County and is now part of the larger Front Range Trail.

The trail starts in Douglas County just west of I-25 at Greenland Road. Greenland was once a bustling little village and shipping point. By 1871, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad extended to the site and it was platted as a 20-acre town in 1875. It continued to thrive with two general stores, a post office, school and even a saloon or two. Two railroad stations shipped out livestock, potatoes, grains, milk, building stones and pottery. The ranching industry continued even after the town declined in the 1930s.

The trail is also accessible to the south on the El Paso County side in the Town of Palmer Lake. There is approximately 10 miles of trail inKipps Loop Memorial Greenland. There are several smaller loops or combinations of loops one can explore to add milage to a ride.

Kipps Loop offers the steepest climb. This is an 8.5 mile loop that features a climb of about 500 feet of elevation gain. Kipps Loop climbs to a small fenced memorial site, featuring a large stone engraved with the Kipps name. Not sure of the history here but it sure looks like a grave site.

Kipps Loop TrailThe southern exit from this trail transitions nicely into the northern part of the 17 mile Santa Fe Trail, another great easy to moderate trail. So by combining these trails you could actually patch together a substantial round trip.

The Douglas County entrance to this trail actually features a picnic area, water spigot, restrooms and plenty of parking. There are smaller picnic areas and benches along the trail as well as hitch rails for horses.

This is a great ride or hike but unlike some of the trails to the west, you will probably see hikers and Horses to just remember to play nice and follow the rules. For more information Click Here.

 

 

This Post Courtesy: Joe Boylan http://www.SpringsHomes.com 

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