Opening Weekend at Granby Ranch Bike Park in Colorado

When a bike park opens in a mountain bike community, the stoke is real. This was the case on the opening weekend of Granby Ranch Bike Park last weekend—June 1 and 2—in Granby, where mountain bikers showed up and sent it to honor and open the 2019 bike park season in Colorado. 

Granby Ranch Bike Park is steeped in Colorado's DH history. The resort's bike park, formerly known as Solvista Bike Park, has hosted  the US National Championships, twice, in 2009 and 2010.

While Granby Ranch’s rough and raw expert DH classics—Strangler, Cougar, Drifter, and Bucknasty—were all running sweet on opening weekend, there were also cross-country, E-bike and family opportunities, making it a weekend for everyone. 

Granby Ranch ran a special for IMBA's Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, spring edition. In celebration of the event, Granby Ranch Bike Park offered free junior bike park day passes with the purchase of a standard adult single-day ticket. 

Opening weekend even saw riders taking advantage of the new E-bike opportunities at Granby Ranch. Both riding them from the lifts and on the cross-country network. The private Granby Ranch cross-country trail system is fully open to E-bikes, including rider owned rigs, so you can ride your E-bike without risk of a ticket or hassle from the US Forest Service. Note: E-bikes are currently banned from all non-motorized and single-track trails in the Winter Park/Fraser/Granby/Sulphur Districts by the Colorado State Forest Service.

A mix of locals, Front Rangers and riders from other Colorado mountain communities, whose parks are still hibernating under a blanket of snow, came to ride the Quick Draw Express lift and shred Granby Ranch’s bike park trails. 

Colorado provides the sunshine and the riders provide the smiles, especially when the lifts are spinning.

Riders who came to smash laps had to get up to speed quickly as Granby Ranch’s expert park terrain is some of the roughest in the state. Everyone kept it safe, but a few tires and rims were sacrificed in the process. 

To say the terrain is ‘inspiring,’ does it justice. A top local masters downhill racer and coach came away from opening weekend with this sentiment. “I think we are going to buy passes this year,” he said. “I wanna ride more here just to stay uncomfortable.” Despite any level of discomfort, smiles came easy on opening weekend, as you can see here.

What a great weekend and what a great start to the bike park season in Colorado. Granby Ranch hopes you'll come see them this summer. Game on in the bike park from Wednesday to Sunday (closed: Mondays & Tuesdays) through mid-September.