SBT GRVL puts a few thousand riders on Yampa Street every summer, and the reason it landed here is that Routt County’s dirt is genuinely world-class: hundreds of miles of graded ranch road with almost nothing on it. None of that closes for the other fifty-one weeks. You can ride the actual race courses out of the chalet’s heated garage on any dry day between May and October - which is the whole argument for basing a gravel trip here rather than chasing an entry.
West on 13th Street onto CR 33 (Twentymile Road), left onto CR 43 where the dirt starts, around the back of Emerald Mountain, right onto CR 41, a steep drop to the Hilton Gulch schoolhouse, then CR 35 and CR 14 (River Road) home. Mostly paved with just enough dirt to justify the tyres, and it works from April.
Equal parts road and dirt, meandering west through ranch country: Highway 40, CR 129, CR 44, CR 33A and back down Twentymile. Short enough to do after the Circuit if the group is fresh.
Which is where the race expo sets up, and where the whole town ends up on a summer evening.
Eat & DrinkMountain Tap BrewerySee it in the guide →The 2026 courses all start and finish on Yampa Street: Green at 25 miles and 1,859 feet, 31% gravel; Red at 53 miles and 4,241 feet, 52% gravel; Blue at 74 miles and 5,841 feet, 65% gravel; and the Black race at 108 miles, 8,267 feet and 70% gravel. Blue is the one most visiting groups actually want - a full day, all the good surfaces, home for dinner.
Worth saying plainly, because it has been a live issue here: the race has had real friction with landowners along the route, and moved back to its pre-2025 courses in 2026 partly because of it. Ride single file past stock, shut every gate you open, and wave at the trucks. Guests riding badly is how a route gets closed to everybody.
Seasonal New American on the river with a rooftop patio and a strong bar, a short walk from where the finish arch goes up.
Eat & DrinkAurum Food and WineSee it in the guide →A loop around Elk Mountain - the formation everybody photographs on the drive in, and the one that actually looks like a sleeping giant from the valley floor. Scenic the whole way and completely impassable when wet.
North on CR 129 along the Elk River, then CR 64 out to the end of the pavement at Hinman Park. Just under fifty miles round trip, narrow shoulders, rough surface in places, and almost no traffic at all.
The big loop west of town, and expert in the real sense. The Cow Creek section is impassable when wet and CR 33 is the bypass - know that before you start, not at mile sixty.
Bikes back into the heated garage, kit onto the boot dryers, and one last soak. The tub seats ten, which is the whole group.
Escape Chalet sits in the mountain district at the base of Mount Werner, a flat ten-minute walk from the gondola, with the free Green Line bus stopping 50 feet from the door.
Four ensuite bedrooms, sleeps 10, ten minutes' walk from the gondola. Two dogs stay free when you book direct, and the Pup Package is included.