By Nate Van Noord (RO Staff)
This past May (2023), on a Sunday afternoon, I ventured to Salida. A customer at Routes recommended riding S-Mountain, specifically a trail called Chicken Dinner. Much of the two hour drive hugged the Arkansas River. Highway 50 brought me right into historic, downtown Salida with a number of hundred year old brick buildings lining downtown.
View from the S-Mountain Trailhead
The parking lot for S-Mountain was just across the Arkansas River from downtown. S-Mountain rises 500 feet above town and the trailhead offered a color coded map of all the trails. After 10 minutes of climbing in my Crank Brothers flats, I already had great views of Salida and the snow capped mountains behind it. As I continued to ride, many of the trail intersections offered maps with ‘you are here’ markers. It was impossible to get lost! After riding for an hour, I made my way to Chicken Dinner and the flowy single track was very fun with lots of rollers and bermed turns.
Surfing at Riverside Park downtown Salida
After my ride, I wandered around downtown Salida and it’s adjoining neighborhoods for a couple hours. Downtown was filled with bike shops, restaurants, parks, and lots of little artsy shops. The River cut through downtown and I watched kayakers, fishing boats, and surfers. (yeah, surfers!) The city created a wave in the middle of the Arkansas River and half a dozen folks were taking turns riding the bad boy. With downhill skiing a short drive away on Monarch Mountain, Salida offers just about everything!
