Colorado Motorcycle Tour - Steamboat Springs

A short mountain run out of Denver with a hot spring at the end of it. Three days, two nights and around 545 miles, heading west over the Rockies to Steamboat Springs and back, on roads chosen for the riding rather than the mileage.

Day one is the long one at 225 miles, climbing out of Denver and crossing the Continental Divide to Glenwood Springs, a town built around its hot springs pool and the Colorado River canyon it sits in. It is a proper mountain day, and a good introduction to the sort of road Colorado does better than anywhere else in the country.

The middle ride is only 115 miles north to Steamboat Springs, which leaves most of the day free. Steamboat is a working ranching town as much as a ski resort, with natural hot springs scattered around the valley, and the short riding day is there so the afternoon can be spent in them rather than on the road. The return to Denver is 205 miles over the mountains.

EAGLERIDER provides the motorcycle and books both nights, with Harley-Davidson touring models alongside Triumph and BMW sport machines, and supplies the mapped route. Fuel, meals and insurance are arranged separately. The high passes close in winter, so this is a trip for the warmer months. For riders who want the Rockies without committing a fortnight, it is a nicely balanced three days: one hard riding day, one easy one, and a long soak in hot water somewhere in the middle of it.