White Water Poudre Canyon Ride

June 6, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

What a great day and a great ride! We have waited all week to get a decent ride in. We rose early but waited for a dense fog to lift before rolling out of the drive about 8:30 am.

By the time we had finished our giant cinnamon rolls and a couple of cups of coffee at Vern's, the day had brightened and looked promising. It would have been hard to dampen our high spirits... we have long looked forward to making one of our favorite drives into a motorcycle ride... Of course, Tim cheated and did part of this ride solo while I was in Texas last month... tsk tsk tsk...

We rode up the beautiful Poudre Canyon which runs beside the Cache La Poudre River for miles and miles. With the snow melt and recent rains, the terrain was green, wild flowers were in bloom and the river was rushing as high as we've seen it in several years. In many places, it was well out of its banks. River rafters and kayakers lined the banks and braved the rapids. With as wild as the river was, we are thinking they got one awesomely cold and wet adventure. The river is normally crowded with fisherman standing waist deep - not so today... the waters were just too treacherous.

Needless to say, we confined our adventure to the road... Our ride took us up scenic Poudre Canyon through Roosevelt National Forest to the Summit of Cameron Pass to Walden, Colorado then through the Medicine Bow National Forest to Laramie, Wyoming and back to Fort Collins, Colorado. It is 100 miles from Fort Collins to Walden, CO and somewhat over 100 miles taking the Laramie route home. We rode 254 miles and made a whole day out of it.

Along the way, we made a pit-stop at Stove Prairie Landing (campground) and spoke with a maintenance employee of the campground, an older gent who rides a Honda Trike that pulls his maintenance trailer... we were thinking what a kool way to ride to work.

The road (Hwy 14) follows the river past small mountain towns, numerous campgrounds, high mountain meadows, and ascends to the Summit of Cameron Pass which is 10,276 in elevation. Most of the campgrounds near the summit are still closed (lakes are frozen, too much snow). We had snow along the roadside and in the tree line. As we got higher, the winds kicked up. The temperature was not unbearable with the sun shining but we were glad we wore the leathers.

Our next stop was the Moose Visitor Center near Gould, CO. This is a favorite stop for us. We visited often when we camped in the area. The center is very nice with informative, interperative displays, picnic tables, nature trail and wildlife viewing. We love to watch the hummingbirds, jays and ground squirrels. The center usually has a report of the latest moose sighting and has maps, books, clothing and other tourist items for sale.

After stretching our legs, posing for the camera and drinking the last of our thermos coffee, we rode 27 miles through high mountain prairie (moose country) to the small town of Walden, Colorado (elevation 8099 ft). Here, we stopped for gas, a hot cup of coffee and to get out of the darn wind for a few minutes. It is always fun to watch the locals and tourists intermingling. We watched the locals shake their heads at a couple of what appeared to be college-age guys stock up on energy snack food, change clothes and repack the bags on their bicycles. They rode off due west toward Steamboat Springs - destination, according to the cardboard signs on the back of their bikes - California. I wished later I had asked where they started from. Talk about adventure!


The next leg of our now very windy ride took us through the rolling hills of northern Colorado, through scenic Kings Canyon and eventually to the flatlands of southern Wyoming. We stopped in Laramie (elevation 7165 ft) at Shari's Restuarant for a light lunch, checked the Hasting's Book Store nearby for a bargain (didn't find one this time) and roamed through Bart's Indoor Flea Market (left empty-handed) before heading back to Fort Collins. We couldn't resist a ride over the dam where we stopped to take in a view of Horsetooth Reservoir crowded with boats, a sure sign summer has arrived. Our last stop was the liquor store where we proved a 12 pack of Budweiser and a 6 pack of Mike's would make the few blocks home on the luggage rack with no ill effect. Ha!

I took video clips while we rode through the Poudre Canyon and lots of pics of the rest of the ride which I will post soon. Enjoy!

White Water Poudre Canyon Ride June 2009

The slide show Part 1 of this ride

The slide show Part 2 of this ride