Jumbo Mountain

Disappointing:
This area is vaguely reminiscent of 18 Road in Fruita. The terrain and environment are similar but that's where the similarities end. The trails are poorly (or not) maintained and signage is nonexistent. Even the trailhead sign is barely readable. Most of the trails have deep ruts down the middle of them which just a little bit of water diversion would help. It's really kind of sad because this could be a really enjoyable network. I did find some sections that quite fun but the lack of signage and amount of criss-crossing trails make it really hard to navigate and put together a nice consistent loop. I wouldn't recommend visiting the area just to ride this system but.. if you are traveling to Paonia, it's worth giving it a look.

A fun trail system, with many difficulty of trails. The main loop I have only been on parts of, but it was fun.

I am horrible at short posts, so I'll label the parts of this review.

My Ride

Using a walmart bike didn't go to well, and ended up having to tighten my front tire and pump up my bike tire every so often. The first time I went, I went down a hill and didn't turn sharp enough, and went otb, through a bush, and ended up with a stick in my eye, scratches everywhere, and a busted up knee. For my first ever mountain biking trip, (and second), I faired pretty well, but would recommend that you have some experience first.

Trail "Mapping"

There are several entrances, but three major ones. The first is to the east through Apple Valley subdivision ("recommended" for kids or families).The second is to the south. There are actually several entrances here, one goes to the main loop and the others got to lower trails. I recommend this one, but there are some difficult climbs. The last is to the west/south-west, I haven't been up it, but have been told that it leads to Upper Horseshoe and the peak of Jumbo, uncertain on ths. I recommend a decent bike and experience before taking on the main trails, but some of the lower ones are easier.

Trails Quality/Description

The trails are dry, dirt trails in a Juniper environment. The views are as great a the ride itself, and is a fun experience. Despite some minor maintenance issues such as small divots and eaten up trail, as well as a tire track that varies in depth at certain parts its in good quality. It has a good mix of smooth, flowy trails and hold-on-for-dear-life and slow down trails. All the Major downhills are quite steep, so set your bike up for that. Most of the trails can be climbed OR descended, which is just as fun either way. There are some technical parts, such as bridges, bumps, roots, berm's, swoops, and plenty more. Overall, Thr is the perfect mi of difficulty, length, climbing, and flow between ll the trails.

As a local I want to get a maintenance team and the trails and loops marked and mapped. People are poorly informed on all the trails and loops. I know the grandson of the guy who owns some and created most of the trails up there, and want to talk to them about rating this taking care of to attract more visitors.

Overall a great ride, and every part is worth it.

P.S. Sorry for the long review.

Great spot to ride if in the area. We rode clockwise up to the power tower and then up to the top ridge overlook. We continued on and that's where the Expert Level/Very Difficult riding is. The spot under the Jumbo Mtn bluff is very exposed (I walked a good bit of it). Once you get to the hammock you begin the very steep downhill section which I also walked a good bit of. I would recommend riding up clockwise and then heading back down the same trail you just came up for some good downhill riding. Expert bikers ONLY (in my opinion) should ride all the way around.
We meet some locals that showed us some other great flowy/whoopty trails down below that were fun to ride as well.

Jumbo Mountain is home to some extremely entertaining and challenging singletrack, complete with great views of the area! However, none of the trails here are marked, and some of them are poorly built so that they wash out and erode with the rain. If you come here to ride, prepare to wander around lost for a while: just pick a trail that looks good, and go with it.

To be honest, I'm not really sure which parts of the trail qualify as the "outer rim," since there were no signs. However, if this refers to the entire outer loop, then some sections of it are boring, steep, washed out doubletrack--and others are beautiful benchcut singletrack. However, if this listing just refers to the initial ridge where the powerline crosses, then I only give this a 2 out of 5 stars.

Jumbo is riding good, almost a bit too dry, but still in great shape. Paonia just turning green-3-29-15

On the edge of town. Similar to Horse Gulch in Durango, but steeper and longer up and down hill. Good solid climbs - 45 min to the top maybe, and pretty fast down with a few stunts along the way. I rode three of the trails. It would be great if a local broke down the trails rather than just posting the area.

Way out in one of the least accessible parts of Colorado lies this superb collection of trails. There are ridiculous steeps, rocks, drops, soft tread, and mostly buff swooping. If you're willing to earn your turns, you won't mind the climb and you'll love the descents. "Ridge of Doom" is aptly named, as is "The Plunge" (not rough, but insanely steep). Slant n' dickular is nicely bermed and probably the most flowy way down. If you happen to find yourself anywhere near this out-of-the-way place, you need to go give this one a run.

awesome trail network.