Palisade Plunge: Complete Ride

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Features Drops/Jumps · Views

The trail is very easy to follow and well marked. The first half of the trail goes through really nice scenery. But expect a bunch of loose trail until there is rain and more riders.

This trail is remote, bring everything you need, it is also not easy to be confident in your skills. Bring lots and lots of water and energy replacement. Even though this ride drops a ton of vert, it still has a good share of climbing.

Both Mesa Top and Shirttail TH's have vault toilets, but no running water. The road to Shirttail TH is the Lands End road and is maintained well enough for all cars to access. The road can be blocked by snow patches even in early summer do check if open ahead of time.
Let's all give thanks to the folks at COPMOBA that made this trail possible.

The trail starts from the Mesa Top Trailhead (Palisade Plunge: Mesa Top TH - Shirttail Point TH Section) off the scenic byway with 10 miles of very flat cruising across the Grand Mesa. The trail is mostly mellow and non-technical with small patches of jagged basalt rocks that keep you on your toes. The land is an open range so cows and their hooves share the trail.

You then ride about 5 miles of rooty steep up and down singletrack until you reach the older section of the Plunge ("Phase 1") at the Shirttail Trailhead. Enjoy the amazing views at Shirttail Point before beginning the descent of the Mesa in the "Wild Rose" section of the trail (Palisade Plunge: Otto's Wall (Shirttail Point TH - Lands End Rd) Section).

You'll get to a trail marker with 13.3 miles to Palisade and the trail turns much more into a desert / mesa trail - slickrock, side-cut exposure and rocks (Palisade Plunge: Lands End Rd - Palisade Rim TH Section). There will be three or four areas with warning signs of difficult trail sections and definitely scout the obstacles first. They are all doable but it's just not a great place to crash.

After the Grand Mesa viewing point, the trail really kicks it up a notch and it's nothing but exposure to the finish. Really, really fun section but also makes you be on your guard.