Active Adventures in the Southwest: Fruita, Colorado

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Outside Magazine, September 2008

Get Lost: Southwest
Hot Corner
Fruita, Colorado

By Stephanie Pearson


	Empty slickrock and singletrack in Fruita (David Epperson/Photodisc/Getty)

Fruita, Colorado
Over the past eight years, Fruita has nearly doubled in size, to 11,000. But despite the boom, you can still find plenty of empty trails here—unlike in Moab, that other mountain–biking mecca to the south. West of town, there are some 50 miles of ledgy slickrock; south, toward Grand Junction, are the climbing–heavy Tabawash trails; and just to the north you can bomb 50 miles of fast singletrack (rentals from $40 at Single Tracks bike shop; single-tracks.com). For a wilderness experience, take a four–night, 86–mile hut–to–hut bike trip from Fruita to Gateway Canyons Resort through Colorado Backcountry Biker, which has an office inside Single Tracks ($645 per person; backcountrybiker.com). In town, load up on spinach–and–bacon pizza at the Hot Tomato Café, which is owned by former pro mountain biker Jen Zeuner (hottomatocafe.com), before soaking in the hot tub at the Stonehaven Inn (doubles, $100; stonehavenbed.com). If you still haven't had your fill, ride the 142–mile Kokopelli Trail to Moab. Just watch out for Jeep grilles when you get close to town.

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