This is one of the premier shuttle rides in Colorado and with good reason. With over 30 miles of mostly singletrack trails and all of the best scenery Colorado has to offer, this trail is a must ride.
This ride requires a bike shuttle as it is 34 miles in distance and an elevation of 11,983. We took the High Valley Bike Shuttle from Poncho Springs to Monarch Pass where the trailhead it located. Bike shuttle website: www.monarchcrest.com
The trailhead is at Monarch Pass, off Highway 50, 19 miles up from Poncha Springs. There are shuttle services from Poncha Springs to the start or you can shuttle with 2 cars, leaving one at Monarch Pass and the other at the Hwy 50/Hwy 285 intersection.
The Monarch Crest is a long point to point ride at very high altitudes. NOTE: there is 2000 vertical feet of climbing along the way. The elevation profile makes it look like an easy 'downhill shuttle ride' while in fact all that high altitude climbing takes most of the time, and your energy, as the ride progresses. This isn't a beginner ride, it's a very long and very tough intermediate level ride.
My bike - Yeti SB140