Matthews/Winters is a good starting point for more than one trail. From the parking lot, go down the trail and over the bridge. Just after the bridge is the Villiage Walk loop, a short 1mi beginner loop that can be ridden in either direction. If you go straight (counter clockwise) in about .3mi you will come to the Red Rocks trail on the right, at this point you can either continue straight ahead to finish the Villiage Walk loop or head onto the Red Rocks trail. If you take the Village Walk loop back to the parking lot you can continue on to the Dakota Ridge trail by riding across Hwy 26 and up the hill on the other side. If you take the Red Rocks trail, at about 1mi you will come to the Morrison Slide trail alternate on the right. Morrison Slide is an alternate that reconnects with the Red Rocks trail in 1.2mi. You have a choice to continue straight on the Red Rocks trail and stick with less climbing or turn onto the Morrison Slide trail and go up several switchbacks to the "tabletop", the views here are great but there are some very rocky switchbacks on the downhill side awaiting you. At the bottom of the switchbacks the Morrison Slide trail re-connects with the Red Rocks trail at which point you can turn right and coninue on to the Ampitheatre and Dakota Ridge trail or turn left and take the Red Rocks trail back to the Villiage Walk trail and on to the parking lot. If you decided to pass the first Morrison Slide cutoff and continue straight on the Red Rocks trail for .8mi you can return by turning right onto the Morrison Slide trail and following it back in the reverse direction.
The high trail is very fun and technical with rocks. If you go to the plateau you will find loose shale looking rock patches that are fun but... sharp. Tires beware. Super fun trail and will ride again soon
| ThankOne of the best and roughest trails I've ridden. Tested my technical abilities on the ascents and descents. I was very glad I had brought my kona stinky six as I know I used all of my travel. I rode the Dakota ridge trail north to south, then picked up red-rock trail to Morrison Slide from south to north and back to red-rock and the parking lot. I then rode the opposite direction(counterclockwise) and completed a second loop. Morrison slide north to south is awesome! I fell off the trail at one switchback and crashed several more times. Dakota ridge riding south to north was fun but not worth the pain and suffering. All told for both loops I rode 15 miles and ascended and descended 4,000ft of terrain in 4 hours.
| ThankA true denver Classic Mathew winters is a great trail with a verity of terrain
| ThankLove this trail. Start at Mathews Winters and pick up Red Rock Trail to E. Alameda Parkway Lot and back again. Quick ride, has numerous tech aspects sprinkled throughout. Fail on some, succeed on others. Varies day to day. In all a great quick ride. Can't imagine how crowded it gets on the weekends. I show up around 10am on weekdays and the lot is relatively full.
| ThankThe trail itself is actually cool, I'd give it a four. BUT it's soooo crowded with hikers that you couldn't really bike so that's why I gave it a 3.
| ThankTrail definitely gets technical after the water crossing. Tried it today for the first time. First mtb ride, first ride w/ clipless pedals. I do not recommend this trail for others in my situation. I put my bike on its side quite a few times, but hey, who doesn't like a few battle wounds?! ;)
| ThankThis trail is pretty short. To me its part of Red Rocks. You defiantly need to connect this trails to Red Rocks and Dakota Ridge. Mabye add Green Mountain in there.
| ThankFun trail, did not do the switchbacks but gave a good workout.
| ThankWinter update: the trail is almost completely dry and almost abandoned on weekedays; like the previous reviewer said, it is very crowded on weekends.
| ThankFantastic scenery. Loooooots of people. If ridden south to north, the climb is a real aerobic challenge. This trail makes the perfect loop with Dakota Ridge, especially if you can do it during a non-peak time.
| ThankI really liked this trail. Honestly, ascending Morrison Slide from the south side for me consisted of a lot of hike-a-biking, but the rest was very doable. I thought the Red Rocks portion was perfect for my skill level, and really pushed me to my technical limits; because of that I had a lot of fun. The Matthew Winters portion was a lot of fast, smooth single track, with a few jumps thrown in. * Review edited 11/14/2011* Review edited 11/14/2011
| ThankThis spot is alright. To many people hiking and biking. Had to stop to many times for people to pass and what not. A lot of rude people and cry babies. Id take 3 sisters over this any day of the week.
| ThankThis trail is rocky on one end, but hardpack on the other. It can be ridden either direction as an out and back, or combined with Dakota Ridge to make a (hard) loop.
Don't let the black diamond rating here turn you off to this trail, it is a great ride and if you're an intermediate rider you should still try it. (It was the first mountain bike trail I ever rode, and I still ride after) :D
If you're up to it, add Morrison Slide for a little more climbing and more technical rocks, without adding too much time.
| ThankI actually started this trail at Zorro, then came down the ridge to the park entrance. New signs block riders to several entry points. Very easy boring ride until you get to the uphill switchbacks, which are rocky and a bit steep, and somewhat technical.* Review edited 7/20/2008
| ThankVery nice, very technical ride with some good views.
A lot of people... its near Denver.
| ThankFantastic yet short loop. A great technical challenge. Great if you want to work in technical climbing and descent. Slow moving - but hearty.
| ThankThis may well be the definitive ride for the Denver foothills area. If you're from out of town, this is definately one for your short list. If you're from here and haven't ridden this, you should slap yourself and then go ride it. The biggest drawback is that it's really crowded. But it's a good intermediate trail with amazing scenery. Beginners should skip the Dakota ridge side and just stay west of the road.
| ThankThis isn't really a stand alone trail but if you couple it with Dakota Ridge it makes for a decent loop. One sizeable climb with a few water bars and switchbacks but not much for technical or aerobic challenges. Plus its packed with hikers
| ThankDeffinatly easier than Dakota ride, but it still has its parts. My friend and I had lunch on the last red rock, before we started our descent.
| Thankthe red rocks side is pretty easy, doesn't offer anything to technical. definately for the beginner riders. the dakota ridge side is pretty tough. definately for the advanced riders, tight narrow rock passages w/ a lot of grunts.
| Thank