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I know Colorado has been covered many times on trip reports, but I have not seen any with a KTM 950 Adventure, so here is one from a "big dirt bike" perspective.
My son wanted to do some downhill mountain biking this summer, so off we went at the end of July to Keystone, Colorado. We pulled my enclosed up there with all the bikes, and most importantly, my KTM 950 Adventure inside.
We were there three days. The first day I did the downhill mountain bike thing. Rented a high end downhill bike and had a blast. Some of the expert trails were nuts—huge drops, banked mini bridges, etc. It’s just like riding single track on a motorcycle, and at the end, the ski lift takes you and your bike back up to the top. I highly recommend the Keystone Mountain bike trails if you like downhill mountain biking.
The second day, my son and his buddy went back out to hit the hills again, so I had a free day. If serious 4WD trails above the tree line is your thing, then being based out of Keystone is near ideal. Within 15 miles as the crow flies are some of the best and most difficult trails in the state (Red Cone, Webster, Radical Hill, etc). The snow pack is still incredible up there; many of the trails won’t be fully passable this year.
Anyway, took off towards Montezuma, and took Peru Creek Rd in search of the old Pennsylvania mine ruins. Got to the top, and was all by myself, as I was for most of the trip. The scope of the mountains, steepness of the climbs, etc is impossible to convey by picture.
Gratuitous pic of the best big dual sport ever made (for me anyways).
.
I met up with a couple of other local dirt bike guys, and ended up tagging along with them for a bit. I wanted to go up Chihuahua Gulch but was worried about the water crossings swollen by the snow melt. We partnered up and hit the trail. It’s a fun, steep rocky climb with a big boulder section that had me grinning from ear to ear. We got to the first water crossing, about 20 feet across and too deep in sections to even see the bottom. The other two guys were like, “no way we are trying that”, which was probably a good thing, because I would have tried it. I did not take any pictures.
We turned around and I told them my plan was to ride Deer Creek south out of Montezuma, then loop up on St Johns trail back north back to Montezuma. Deer creek/St John’s makes a nice loop around the area to the south of Montezuma. They said they would go part of the way with me. At the junction of Radical Hill and the trails to the Swan River Forks, they turned around. They were not real strong dirt riders and they said it was too steep to keep going.
Here are some scenery shots of the area:
Parked on the Continental Divide, top of Radical Hill
The Radical Hill Welcoming Committee
Another mountain goat
Red Cone Mountain and trail as seen from Radical Hill. Probably the most terrifying descent in Colorado as far as jeep trails go. If you think it looks easy, reserve judgement until you see it in person. For an idea of scale, the tiny dot on the final drop is a jeep!
Pretty high up for a flatlander like me
The scenery was breathtaking, but clouds were gathering and I had to go. Headed north up St. Johns trail back towards Montezuma. The trail climbs straight up a series of mountain ridges, no switchbacks, and the trail was steep, rutted, and littered with huge rocks that were turned over by jeeps. I made it up without issues. Again scale and steepness is impossible to convey.
View from the top of the ridge
At this point I had a bit of “a moment”. I took a wrong turn on a trail that was blocked eventually with snow drifts. I got through the first one, but the second one was taller than me, and I had to get my bike turned around on a narrow, off camber shelf trail. If the bike had gone off the side, it would still be there today. By the time I got turned back around, I was pretty tired. The last bit of trail went up the steepest part of a ridge yet. I was seeing stars and little white spots from wrestling my bike at 12K feet, so I decided to back track the way I came and ended back up in Montezuma via Deer Creek. From there I rode the rest of St. Johns from Montezuma all the way to the top of the ridge where I turned around. I didn’t want to miss anything!
Made my way back to Keystone and explored Keystone Gulch all the way to the top. The first part is suitable for a passenger car, but the turn off to the top and the old Erickson Mine is low range 4WD only—steep, rocky, and narrow switchbacks above the tree line at the top. I got as far as the road went, and was rewarded with amazing views.
The old mine
The view from the top looking down on Lake Dillon with camera zoom
I also got out Saturday and went over Boreas Pass (all dirt but very easy, I could have driven my motor home over it), and tried Georgia Pass (Mt. Guyot) from Jefferson as a way to loop back to Breckenridge on an all dirt route. Right at Mt. Guyot, on the Continental Divide, the trail was closed due to a wash out. The locals said they had a four inch rain just a few weeks ago. I could tell. Many parts of the trail I rode during the trip were recently eroded, which made things even trickier.
Overall, it was a great trip to one of the best areas in Colorado. I put in about 160 miles, including the road miles to the trails. Highly recommended!
My son wanted to do some downhill mountain biking this summer, so off we went at the end of July to Keystone, Colorado. We pulled my enclosed up there with all the bikes, and most importantly, my KTM 950 Adventure inside.
We were there three days. The first day I did the downhill mountain bike thing. Rented a high end downhill bike and had a blast. Some of the expert trails were nuts—huge drops, banked mini bridges, etc. It’s just like riding single track on a motorcycle, and at the end, the ski lift takes you and your bike back up to the top. I highly recommend the Keystone Mountain bike trails if you like downhill mountain biking.
The second day, my son and his buddy went back out to hit the hills again, so I had a free day. If serious 4WD trails above the tree line is your thing, then being based out of Keystone is near ideal. Within 15 miles as the crow flies are some of the best and most difficult trails in the state (Red Cone, Webster, Radical Hill, etc). The snow pack is still incredible up there; many of the trails won’t be fully passable this year.
Anyway, took off towards Montezuma, and took Peru Creek Rd in search of the old Pennsylvania mine ruins. Got to the top, and was all by myself, as I was for most of the trip. The scope of the mountains, steepness of the climbs, etc is impossible to convey by picture.
Gratuitous pic of the best big dual sport ever made (for me anyways).
I met up with a couple of other local dirt bike guys, and ended up tagging along with them for a bit. I wanted to go up Chihuahua Gulch but was worried about the water crossings swollen by the snow melt. We partnered up and hit the trail. It’s a fun, steep rocky climb with a big boulder section that had me grinning from ear to ear. We got to the first water crossing, about 20 feet across and too deep in sections to even see the bottom. The other two guys were like, “no way we are trying that”, which was probably a good thing, because I would have tried it. I did not take any pictures.
We turned around and I told them my plan was to ride Deer Creek south out of Montezuma, then loop up on St Johns trail back north back to Montezuma. Deer creek/St John’s makes a nice loop around the area to the south of Montezuma. They said they would go part of the way with me. At the junction of Radical Hill and the trails to the Swan River Forks, they turned around. They were not real strong dirt riders and they said it was too steep to keep going.
Here are some scenery shots of the area:
Parked on the Continental Divide, top of Radical Hill
The Radical Hill Welcoming Committee
Another mountain goat
Red Cone Mountain and trail as seen from Radical Hill. Probably the most terrifying descent in Colorado as far as jeep trails go. If you think it looks easy, reserve judgement until you see it in person. For an idea of scale, the tiny dot on the final drop is a jeep!
Pretty high up for a flatlander like me
The scenery was breathtaking, but clouds were gathering and I had to go. Headed north up St. Johns trail back towards Montezuma. The trail climbs straight up a series of mountain ridges, no switchbacks, and the trail was steep, rutted, and littered with huge rocks that were turned over by jeeps. I made it up without issues. Again scale and steepness is impossible to convey.
View from the top of the ridge
At this point I had a bit of “a moment”. I took a wrong turn on a trail that was blocked eventually with snow drifts. I got through the first one, but the second one was taller than me, and I had to get my bike turned around on a narrow, off camber shelf trail. If the bike had gone off the side, it would still be there today. By the time I got turned back around, I was pretty tired. The last bit of trail went up the steepest part of a ridge yet. I was seeing stars and little white spots from wrestling my bike at 12K feet, so I decided to back track the way I came and ended back up in Montezuma via Deer Creek. From there I rode the rest of St. Johns from Montezuma all the way to the top of the ridge where I turned around. I didn’t want to miss anything!
Made my way back to Keystone and explored Keystone Gulch all the way to the top. The first part is suitable for a passenger car, but the turn off to the top and the old Erickson Mine is low range 4WD only—steep, rocky, and narrow switchbacks above the tree line at the top. I got as far as the road went, and was rewarded with amazing views.
The old mine
The view from the top looking down on Lake Dillon with camera zoom
I also got out Saturday and went over Boreas Pass (all dirt but very easy, I could have driven my motor home over it), and tried Georgia Pass (Mt. Guyot) from Jefferson as a way to loop back to Breckenridge on an all dirt route. Right at Mt. Guyot, on the Continental Divide, the trail was closed due to a wash out. The locals said they had a four inch rain just a few weeks ago. I could tell. Many parts of the trail I rode during the trip were recently eroded, which made things even trickier.
Overall, it was a great trip to one of the best areas in Colorado. I put in about 160 miles, including the road miles to the trails. Highly recommended!
Heck I'd pay double if I COULD GET THERE TODAY. 
No I am not interested in Southwest Airline fare pricing... 
Besides, I have never ridden any of the places in your report, so it is all new to me!