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“Bigger than a trail”: Grand Valley’s Palisade Plunge set to open after 10 years of planning, partnerships

“This next stretch, this is where the exposure becomes, um, moreso,” Scott Winans says.

The dozen-plus mountain bikers lean over their handlebars and scan the cliff next to the narrow singletrack. A few nervous chuckles evaporate in the gusting wind. 

For the next hour, the riders mutter “moreso” to each other as they navigate a ribbon of dirt above sheer cliffs. 



The 32-mile, soon-to-open Palisade Plunge is the most anticipated mountain bike trail to debut in a decade in Colorado. It’s taken more than 10 years of negotiations between federal and state agencies, local communities, mountain bikers and private landowners. And the end result is a trail that will challenge even the most skilled mountain bikers as they bounce down the crown jewel of the Grand Valley’s blossoming outdoor recreation economy. 

But the Palisade Plunge is more than an economic engine luring mountain bikers who are expected to deliver as much as $5 million a year to Mesa County. And it’s more than a destination-worthy trail that traverses distinct alpine-to-desert ecosystems, blending rolling singletrack with technical, high-consequence terrain and unrivaled vistas.

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