Colorado is an interesting and entertaining state inside it’s borders as most know, but for those looking for a little more exploring in their off times when the high country isn’t accessible, there is enough on the perimeter to keep one busy.
There are four corners in Colorado of course, it being one of the “square states”, but as many don’t pay attention to, there are three tri-points as well. Tri-points being where three states border. There are some that may argue that two of our Centennial state’s corners actually border three states as well, and that is true, but to simplify things in this article, we will refer to them as corners. We set out to see what these geographical features had to offer and as some were in the “flats” where the riding is mundane, we were motivated to find as many diversions as could be had along the way. We will journal this tour mostly on the perimeter of Colorado leaving the interior for another time. I should make mention at this point that this should be considered a dual-sport oriented trip.
After exiting Colorado to the south, our first diversion is the Raton sign. Perched on a bluff above the town of the same name, the placement is similar to the Trinidad sign 25 miles to the north but slightly easier to access. Take exit 454 to Moulton Street. This is also the old Raton Pass road and is paved… sort of and is a bit steep. Some don’t like this access on big street bikes, but I never found it a problem. There is also a parking spot where the KT Boundry can be seen after a short walk past the gate on Old Raton Pass Road.
After Raton, we proceed east on NM-72, This is a decent ride and offers the only curves we will see for some time. This road is the location of the largest herd of Pronghorns and Wild Turkeys I have ever witnessed. At Folsom, we turn south on NM-325 for a nine mile trip to Capulin Volcano before returning to Folsom. Folsom is a mostly abandoned railroad town but it’s old buildings offer a unique photo opp. From the intersection in town, we proceed just 3.4 miles on NM-456 to a small dirt pulloff on the right. This is the parking area for the small, little known but unique Folsom Falls. It’s a bit hard to find, but after about a 50 yard walk straight east, one can begin to hear it. The water has carved a canyon in the lava creating a grotto. With the water fall and hanging moss it resembles a somewhat tropical scene totally out of place for the desert environment surrounding it.
The day is growing old and we are anxious to bag our first tri-point and find a place to camp for the night. We proceed on NM-456 east and after 13 miles the road turns to dirt. This stretch is surprisingly scenic for northern New Mexico with plenty of canyons and color.
At Kenton Oklahoma, we turn north on Black Mesa Road for the 10 mile commute to our first tri-point. We opted out on the 9 mile hike to the highest point in Oklahoma but did stop at the dinosaur tracks sign but were disappointed seeing nothing there. The road to the tri-point is a paved single lane road almost the entire way and after getting a few pics, we backtracked making one more stop at the Brontosaurus Femur replica on OK-325 before riding to Black Mesa State Park to camp for the night. The first day out was pretty good, we had plenty to keep us busy and the riding was OK too. We saw and learned a lot. Black Butte State Park has decent camping, but they were real sticklers about reservations even though not many campsites were taken. They also have a policy about charging for each additional tent but we got around that. 10% discount for seniors helped some. It’s about in the right location for the first night if one leaves from Denver however and there is nothing else close. There is water and power but bring food as there is nothing closer than Boise City.
We were up and on the road early, moving fast on the straight and featureless roads common in this area. After a stop in Boise City for coffee and “delicious” gas station snacks, we were off to our first state corner. The S.E. corner is accessed from NS-54 Rd, on OK-56. After a pic of the benchmark at the corner, we high balled straight east on the border road to Elkhart and then north to our next diversion being Point of Rocks. This prominent landmark was an important stop on the Cimmaron Branch of the Santa Fe Trail as there was good water and grazing in the area. It is well worth the stop to read the interpretive signs and get a bit of exercise. For those needing a place to camp in the area, the Cimmaron River Campground across the road is really nice and just seven bucks per site, it’s a lot nicer than Black Mesa S.P. where we stayed the night before. Problem is, it’s kind of a long haul for the first day.
We continued north on KS-27 to KS-40 then left and a quick right on RD-3 where we headed north to Mt. Sunflower. At 4039 ft. it is the highest point in Kansas. Keep in mind this is not the most challenging riding, so we are looking for diversions to make it interesting and this stop is worth a brief visit just because.
The next stop was the Motorcycle Museum in St Francis. For those that have not visited this museum, it is well worth the visit. The eight or so bikes in the “vault” are worth millions and there are 150 bikes in total. It was getting late, so we grabbed a meal and headed to our campsite at Beecher Island Campground. Beecher Island is on the Arikaree Fork and was the site of an 1868 battle between a faction of the Plains Tribes and the U.S. Army. The leader of the Plains Tribes was Roman Nose who was killed in the battle and is buried on a bluff overlooking the site. The campsite is the gem here however. This site offers tables and fire pits under mature Cottonwood trees with water and power and even has hot showers. The price is just a donation and that is hard to beat! I’d ride out there just to camp it’s so nice.
We figured our third day would result in less diversions and more miles so we took off early for the next tri-point just a few miles north of where we camped. All of our destinations so far were easy to access and really could have been ridden on a road bike with just average skills. The road to the eastern tri-point was the most challenging so far and still wasn’t really anything except for being a bit convoluted to get to. There are two markers at this location, the new one and the original which is 600 ft. to the south. Pretty solid work to determine the location using simple survey instruments compared to GPS and still only miss it by 600 ft. The original marker is but 400 ft from the lowest point in Colorado which is roughly in the middle of the Arikaree Fork. We could see it and there is a road that gets one closer, but as it is on private land we opted not to walk there.
We reversed our route back to CO-385 and continued north to CR-32 and then north on CR-310 to the north east corner of Colorado. This is the only tri-point or corner that has a residence close by. I was amused thinking what if the guy was asked “where do you live?” the answer could be, “why, I live just across the road from Colorado”. Not so funny but one does have to amuse themselves out here in the hinterlands after all.
After the pics at the corner, we were finally headed west. We jumped on I-80 to make short work of the distance to Pine Bluffs just inside the Wyoming border. We made a left on Beech Avenue for ten miles and made a left back into Nebraska and followed the road to Panorama Point, the highest point in Nebraska at 5429 ft. Really nothing but a small rise on the prairie, it is on private land and requires a three dollar entrance fee. From this location, we can see the tri-point which is our next destination but it is a 10 mile ride as they don’t want you walking among their bison herd. I tend to agree.
At our next stop, we park the bikes at the gate and walk the half mile to the last tri-point marker. It’s an easy walk among the tall towers of a wind farm and curious cows.
We backtrack to I-80 and head west to Laramie and across the Snowy Range and then south on 230 to our camp in Riverside at Lazy Acres for a total of about 420 miles for the day. We opted to stay out of the busier parts of Colorado by going through Wyoming Now we will be into more interesting and familiar riding with more diversions for the next three days as we hit the two remaining corners.
The reason we like to camp in Riverside, is to ride WY-70 and it did not disappoint as usual as we headed west to Baggs. It was a beautiful clear morning with no traffic as usual. The road straightens out after mile marker 28 where we usually turn around and we have but 25 miles of straight roads to Baggs.
We opt to take Moffat County Rd. 4 as it’s 20 miles shorter than dropping down to Maybell and it still allows us to see Irish Canyon and Vermillion Falls. We also drop in to the Gates of Lodore, Swinging Bridge and the Jarvie Historic Ranch on the way to the north west corner.
The approach to the north west corner will be the only challenging road on the trip and it isn’t much. We’re going to backtrack to Browns Park Road and take that to Utah 191 and Flaming Gorge. The destination for today will be the town park in Rangely. We have put in 335 miles and a lot of saddle time for the day and we choose to layoff a bit early so we can hit it hard tomorrow for the final push to the last corner.
Our M.O. on this trip has been to get the most out of the tour regardless of the terrain. Fortunately the shortest route to the last corner consists of some of the better roads in Colorado. The contrast between the eastern and western sides of Colorado couldn’t be more stark, but we certainly made the best of it.
Another clear and windless morning as we head south on CO-139 and over Douglas Pass to Grand Junction, and after a short commute through town we are southbound on one of the best in the state CO-141. We did the lower section through Disappointment Valley and over the curvy section on Slickrock Hill. At Dove Creek we are just 75 miles from our destination.
Our last corner, the only one that touches four states as we all know, was reached on the afternoon of our fifth day. Since leaving Denver, we have logged 1750 miles and had to do another 400 to get home. We saw and learned a lot on this tour. All things considered, the north west corner was my favorite and the south west my least, I suppose because the access is really boring and it’s commercialized. The east side of the state is flat and boring as far as riding is concerned, but the diversions come and go pretty fast keeping it interesting and the camping is great.
Would I do it again? Sure why not with the right circumstances and if someone asked to do it. Frankly, I think it would be better broken into two tours both leaving from Denver. One east and one west. I picture the routes projected on a map as roughly the shape of a bow tie. It seems to me almost the entire route could be done on a road bike as long as it was dry, as it was all hard pack except for the north west corner. We took our time and looked at stuff which suits my age, but someone more ambitious could visit all seven border markers in three or four days or maybe even two.
Have phun out there.
Carloski
