Colorado is home to some of the best outdoor adventures in the world and some of the best handcrafted beer, wine and spirits in the world. So why not put the two together when you plan your next outing. Here we present five trips that taste both of the state’s great pleasures.
Bike and Beer
Lefthand Canyon/Upslope Brewery, Boulder, CO
For those roadies who like to train with carbohydrates this is the ultimate summer outing, park at the Upslope Brewery on Lee Hill Rd. and hop on your bike to ride up Lefthand Canyon through Ward all the way to alpine Brainard Lake. Then choose your route back down. Lefthand itself is the most obvious. The Road through Jamestown adds in a bit of dirt. Route 7 down to Lyons and back along 36 makes for an epic. Then head to the Upslope tasting room, where we suggest you try the seasonal specials and take home a few six-packs. Plus, Upslope maintains a fantastic blog. Upslopebrewing.wordpress.com
High Spirits
Mount Sneffels/Colorado Boy Brewery, Ridgway, CO
Climbing 14er Mount Sneffels offers a somewhat European experience. You can drive close enough up through the sprawling alpine bowl to the peak to make for a short approach and then challenge yourself a bit with a scramble up the 3rd class southwest ridge. San Juan Mountain Guides offers laid-back guided trips and can negotiate the 4×4 road (sanjuanmountainguides.com). These guides also like their beer, especially at Colorado Boy Pub and Brewery, the poster child for small brewery success. They even offer a course on how to start your own handcrafted brewery. Coloradoboy.com
Bourbon and Slickrock
The Ribbon/Peach Street Distillers, Palisade, CO
The only thing that can bring you down from the high of riding Grand Junction’s Ribbon Trail, a burly 7-mile singletrack adventure that takes in singletrack, drop offs and gutty climbs, is some local bourbon. Peach Street offers the only bourbon made in Colroado and the stuff is so smooth and tasty, it’s more like wine than whiskey. You can also sample the distillery’s grappa, brandy, vodka and gin. Peachstreetdistillers.com
Paonia Pinot
Mount Lamborn/Stone Cottage Cellars, Paonia, CO
Tucked up in the high country and full of artists and foodies who have escaped the confines of big cites, Paonia is a little-known wine destination. And nothing gets you primed for some wine tasting better than a mountain hike. We suggest you go big by hiking nearby 11,396-foot Mount Lamborn, with its 5,500 feet of vertical rise over the town, and then stick your nose in some grape juice. Local vineyard Stone Cottage Cellars produces a luscious pinot that even impressed the native Californians among us. stonecottagecellars.com
NOTE: We know we shouldn’t have to say this but we think we should. Don’t drink and drive. Designate a driver (perhaps the person who got hammered the most on the cruise). And we strongly suggest you relax with your native drink only after engaging in your favorite outdoor activity. •
