Good cities in Colorado to use a hub for 3-4 days of riding in two weeks

Long story short, I'm a pessimist on what this winter will be like, so myself and two friends from Minnesota & Wisconsin are doing a two-week trip to Colorado and Utah. We've done Colorado a few times before and loved nearly every mile.

We're thinking about getting an Airbnb in Leadville and will use that as a hub for three-or-four days (Sept. 15-18).

Is there any other place we should consider for reasons of location, stuff to do, affordability, etc.?

After Colorado we're probably going to use Panguitch, Utah as a hub before heading home. This was a tip I h​ad gotten a couple weeks ago from this forum.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks in advance,

Mark Hoffman
2003 K1200GT
Fond du Lac, Wis.
markfreebie@hotmail.com

You could get Steve Farson's guide book on riding Colorado:

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Motorcycling-Colorado-Definitive/dp/1884313922

Have fun!

markfreebie said:

Is there any other place we should consider for reasons of location, stuff to do, affordability, etc.?

Click to expand...

It makes a difference on what month you plan to go.

Thumbs up on Steve Farson’s book!

I also spread out a Butler map for Colorado best riding roads and used both to help me visualize a game plan.

*I’m in Grand Lake for the week and just drove (unfortunately) Hwy 40 north off I-70 and was amazed at how fun that would have been on my bike. Good luck!

markfreebie said:

We're thinking about getting an Airbnb in Leadville and will use that as a hub for three-or-four days (Sept. 15-18).

Click to expand...

Leadville is really high (10 kft). If you are coming straight from the lowlands you might sleep better if you stay somewhere lower. Salida is an hour south of Leadville, lower (7 kft), has some decent restaurants, and has good riding nearby. Barring an early snowstorm, Independence Pass should still be open.

Ken

Telluride would make a excellent base, Tons of loop rides out of here, every direction you go it's really good. 200 miles and up. And not much traffic. Great restaurants too. Classic historic Colorado mining town. Super Scenic.
One drawback is Telluride is expensive. But if you have others to split the cost with it could be OK.
Nick 42 year Telluride resident.

Montrose is cheaper than a tourist town and while it’s not much of a hot spot it puts you within easy reach of several great loops: Delores River and the Hanging Flume, Colorado NM, Grand Mesa, Down the Mi.lion $$ Hwy then back either via Delores/Telluride to the west or Pagosa Springs/Creede to the east, Black Canyon of the Gunnison to Paonia then over Kebbler Pass to Crested Butte

I’ve always liked Paonia as a place to overnight. And Ridgway is a great choice for moto riding, and less expensive than Telluride.

There are a lot of great hubs to use as a base but the question was asked when you were coming. This week we went from mid 90's to snow over much of the state with some areas getting large amounts of that white stuff. There is still a lot o good riding days left for this year just be prepared. Personally I would stay at something lower in elevation that Leadville. As mentioned Salida, Montrose, Paonia or throw a dart at the Butler map and stay there.

Lots of good advice in this thread.
Just a heads up:
The 25 mile section of Hwy 50 from Ridgway to Montrose has for years now had the most vehicular/ deer collisions in the state. I ride that section rather slowly and scared. The state has spent millions in mitigation projects, but.. guess what, It's still #1. There is a river on the west side of the Hwy and the animals cross the road to access it. The terrain to the east is very dry.
Ride safe in 2020
Nick