Stratton Open Space / The Chutes

Fun flowy downhill run from the north end of Stratton Open Space to and through Cresta Park.

I feel like the rerouting and reconstruction efforts in Stratton have gone very well until now. The Chutes were a great reconstruction. The lower portion of Meadow from its junction with Ponderosa trail on the north end back to La Veta trailhead is also nice. The construction of the new portion of Ridge is also very well done. Latters is nice from Chamberlain up to the Chutes. Where things have gone awry is on the upper portion of Meadow from Ponderosa up to Chamberlain. It's fine for climbing (and running), but the descent is a disaster. There are short sections that are pretty good, but for the most part just as you start to gain a little momentum, it is totally scrubbed by overly tight hairpin turns with no berms and other turns that are impossible to maintain any speed. There are a couple of places where there are banks cut into the trail but you cannot use them well because you have scrubbed all your speed just before them. I'm not sure what the builders/city were thinking. Maybe it was designed for children. It certainly was not designed to maintain any reasonable amount of flow throughout the trail, and it will only get worse as it becomes loose over time. All and all it's too bad. There was so much potential to construct a nice, flowy descent with good lines of sight (for safety with other users). It could have been a lot of fun even without a ton of speed. Hate to think how much money was spent on what appears to be a huge mistake. If there is much more construction like this in the region, I will be redirecting my investment dollars elsewhere.

great trail, really my favorite one here in the Springs. Kind of a Must do if you have to do any trail. Made a video about it as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAfE-LC3Yaw&t=1s

@Gdb49. I have to concur with you. Praise to all those who designed and implemented the project. They have not only maintained the original character of The Chutes, they have enhanced it. A job well-done. It definitely puts Stratton on the map for Front Range mountain biking. They have finally also put up signs explaining the project. It looks like there is more in the making too.

I rode a number of trails in this area but not the Chutes. The trails I rode were two-way cross-country style trails, weak on technical features but quite pleasant. It was a weekday but there were still several dog walkers.

The local trail crew has done a great job giving Stratton some TLC of late. The Chutes are in fantastic condition, the best I have ever seen. Stratton may not be very technical, but it is a pleasure to ride and great access to trails above High Drive.

The Chutes are in much better shape now. Great work by local trail crews. Arroyo Grande is awesome right now. Blazing fast, great flow, twisty fun.

I rode Chamberlain for the first time today, it is a good steady incline with a few switchbacks, it's work, but the ride back down is totally worth it. It is a fine trail for beginner riders. It is a very well kept trail and gives great views of the Broadmoor.

Climbed from the bottom of Stratton (La Veta THD) to the top of High Drive and then back down Jacks and Stratton. Very nice climb ~1600'. Good training climb that you can take as fast as you like. Plus, the scenery is exceptional. Really enjoyed the climb and of course the descent. Next time, I want to go farther and go up above High Drive.

A few minutes worth of high speed and (mostly) perfect turns. No more, no less.

The chutes I a super fun trail.

From the parking lot to old gold camp road is a 900ft elevation gain, but that also means a 900ft drop. The gravel is loss and makes sliding a factor along with speed. Although this trail is maintained there are still a lot of areas that are worn down. Numbers is people use this trail system and dogs are not usually leashed. Great view of the city and a good in and out trail.

Great finisher to a Buckhorn/Jacks ride and a fun area for a quick ride on its own with short but fun downhill sections. I recommend parking at the bottom of Cheyenne Canon and climbing the Chamberlain trail to the top, then up the last quarterish of the Chutes and descending Chutes. Catch it on a low traffic weekday and its super fun at speed.

very cool trail system right on the west side of Colorado Springs. Nice climb up to the top providing a spectacular view and then a nice bomb down The Chutes trail. Seemed friendly for all levels of riders and if you know the area can connect into multiple other trail systems to provide you with a long day of amazing riding.

Went here for my first Colorado biking experience. I do not have much to comare it to, but I throughly enjoyed riding here. There are many trails that are interconnected at Stratton Open space. There is plenty of parking at the trailhead, and it is easy to find. I would call myself a beginner to intermediate rider and I had a blast. I felt as though the climbs were steep enough to get a workout, but I wasn't dying. I will definitely be coming back

Ripping down the Chutes is an absolutely hoot of a bobsled run, and while there are other trails in this park, this place seems to be a one-hit wonder. And that one hit is pretty dang good, but it's just not great. If you're in the area, I'd recommend riding here, but I'd recommend combining it with other area trails for a big loop.

There's been some substantial work done on the Chutes since my last review, and nearly all the treacherous rutting has been repaired. The bottom third is all fixed. There is just a short section about half way down that is still a bit treacherous, but there is a pretty good line. All in all the Chutes "are back". Fast, very fast.

Of course it's great to do Jacks and the Chutes together for a really sweet DH shuttle, but Stratton offers some great additions to this ride. The next time you do the Jacks/Chutes DH, when you get near the bottom of the Chutes, turn left onto the Chamberlain Trail and start heading back up the hill (heading N-NW). The Chamberlain is a smooth gradual uphill ride in a beautiful ponderosa pine stand with lots of curves, twists and dips to keep the climb interesting. If you like, the Chamberlain will take you all the way back to the top of the Chutes. Along the way, however, there are two good options off the Chamberlain to continue your DH fun. First, near the bottom of the Chamberlain, just a little ways after getting onto the trail, you can hang a right onto the Upper Meadow Trail. Follow this portion of the Upper Meadow CW (N-NE-E). After a short "techy" stretch initially, this portion of the trail becomes a very fast, curvy, flowy, fun DH run with several small jumps to add to the fun. You will end up at the Ponderosa Trail portal at the north end of the Open Space. The second good DH option off the Chamberlain Trail is near the top of the trail. Here you can hang a right onto the Arroyo Grande Trail. This trail heads due east down the hill and is a tight, twisty, very fast, very fun, DH run. It will leave you smiling ear to ear. I hope you find that both Upper Meadow and Arroyo Grande are great additions to your Jacks/Chutes DH pleasure.

There are not too many places in Colorado Springs that one can ride in the winter time, but if it not too cold I was told this was a cool place to hit because it's mostly crushed granite and not too much mud.

This video (https://vimeo.com/61043040) is just one (1) mile of the downhill run on the Gold Camp Path. We started form the parking lot and rode up to Gold Camp Road and then hit the downhill section. There was a lot of snow and it sure made for a different kind of descent.

Well, they were correct - it was not too cold (despite all the snow) and very little mud - but don't be fooled - we got totally soaked and dirty!

Here is a full ride: https://connect.garmin.com/activity/280055147

For the video: I just took position of the new K-Edge Handle Bar & Seat Rial GoPro brackets and gave them a try on this ride. In this clip I used one camera on the bars and one under the seat. I think next time I am going to tilt them down a bit to get more wheel int he frame. They worked great - although for the bar mount I have to add a shim to get it to fit and it is designed for the larger bar diameters. They are expensive for what you get - but I think they do a much better job than GoPro's version.

Now that I know what to expect, I'll add in a couple of other cameras to mix up the footage some.

Rode the Chutes- Enjoyed the trail, fun and flowy. Too many hikers to get the 4 stars it probably deserves. Hard to blame a trail for being nice enough to draw people, but takes the flow out of flowy.