My wife and I are planning a trip to Colorado this summer to do some 4-wheelen and fly fishing. I have never rode in Colorado and was hoping someone could let me know a few areas good for riding.

I have never rode in the mountains, any words of wisdom would be much appreciated.

Also, do we have to re-jet our machines? Is that difficult?

 

Don't have much atv time, but loads of dirt bike time. Colorado is my all time favorite.
I like Silverton area, that's between Durango and Ouray on rt.550.
Silverton is at 9200ft. and the passes are over 13000ft You will need to rejet. Dial-A-jet should do the trick.
Lots of places to stay and the scenery will blow your mind. Lots of Jeeps, ATV's and Dirt Bikes there all summer.
On Labor Day they have a hang glider contest coming off mountain in Silverton. Fun to watch.
Colorado has a ton of neat places to ride, but this is the best I think. Trails can be very steep and rocky tho.

Planning a trip there in Aug. myself.

 

This is a loaded question, hope you are up to my answer.
I have been riding Colorful Colorado for the last 5 summers, 2 weeks every year but one thing I have learned is : Don't take your vacation in June, still too much snow at the 11,000 ft + elevation, even with the droughts, wait till at least the last days of June thru August.
Where to stay ; Motels?
Make your reservations NOW, as rooms are already filling up & if you wait till you leave for your summer atventure trip, you may not find a room.
Camping ;
Either make reservations at a RV park or take your chances of finding a open space at of the Forest Service Campgrounds & remember that if Colorado has another "dry" winter/summer, fire restrictions will be in place.
Plan on trailering your 4wheelers to the trail heads as almost all of Colorado does not allow ATV's on city streets, except for Lake City,CO.
Lake City is on Highway 149 Northeast of Durango (166 miles) & east of Ouray/Silverton. Lake City allows 4wheelers (as of now,this can change) to ride your 4wheeler on the city streets but your 4wheeler must meet the following requirements:

Any atv state license plate w/current tag,insurance,drivers license & proof of registration.

Lake City is at 8600 feet & the ATV/Jeep roads/trails will take you up to 13,000 feet. The Lake City/Silverton/Ouray is all the same riding area, the Silverton/Ouray allows you to enter from the west side & Lake City allows you to enter from the East side of this San Juan Mountain Range.
Most of the roads in this area are also shared with Jeeps, a few Humvees & every now & then some idiot in a full-size truck. You should get in the habit of riding with your lites "on" while on the Jeep roads, mainly to let the Jeepers see you better. I also will always pull over for them if I meet them head on, to let them go by instead of making them find someplace to get their bigger Jeep out of my way. Most will pull over if you come up on them from behind & if your lights are "on" they will see you back there.
Weather : Be prepared for the worst, because if you don't, it will happen! I have been snow&sleet on in the middle of July on Engineer Pass (13,000 ft) & I was thankful to have along my winter gloves/Jacket. Don't forget your raingear, those High COLD Thunderstorms are awesome.
Tools : Bring a good set of wrenches & sockets/don't depend on just your 4wheeler tool-kit. A can or two of "spare tire in-a-can" is wise too, along with a true tire repair kit/small air-pump that can run off your 4wheeler.
Gasoline : There are NO gas stations where you are riding & the Prairie 650 is not the best for gas mpg, you may be able to get 75 miles to a tank but more likely less, maybe around 65. The best I did last summer in the Lake City area, riding from 8600 to a high of 12000 was 16.5 mpg(75 miles) using low range 4x4 about 60% of the time.The rest of the time I was around the 62 miles to a tank, mainly because I was using more low 4x4 range & at the highest elevation(13,000). I use a Fuel-pack (3.25gallon) strap to my rear rack, it cost $65 but I have found this design to carry extra fuel is the best way to go, www.rockymountainatv.com carries them. If you wander off the main Jeep roads, you will be surprised on how many miles you can travel in one day, most of the time I can cover 90 miles easy here with the highest being 105 miles, the lowest 70 miles.
Riding area : Very steep in areas but not all of the riding is steep. Rocky,narrow roads,stream crossings, beautiful views,beathtaking scenery from all of the passes, with most of all the passes in the 12,670 + elevation range.
The Lake City area has a few ATV trails only,with one of them requiring you to trailer to,if you get a chance check out the "Cannibal Plateau Trail" you will need excellent brakes on this one!
Other trails/roads ;Carson Ghost town,Continental Divide,Heart Lake,Stoney Pass,Cinnamon Pass,Cottenwood Creek,Animas Fork(another Ghost town),Engineer Pass,Rose Cabin,Eureka & Poughkeepsie Gulch & with everyone featuring Spectacular scenery throughout.
4wheeler Prep : Change all of your oils with fresh oil, engine oil/filter & front/rear diffs.
Be sure your tires are in excellent tread & have Slime in all of your tires.
Jetting : yes, rejet both 4wheelers - you may be able to just go up one step in jetting on the Prairie 650, if you feel you need more air, the higher you get, you can always take the air-filter lid off & just leave the filter bolted down with the hold down bolts ( you can do this with the '03 650). Be sure to put the outer air-cleaner box door back in the lock position. Bring a extra clean pre-oiled air-filter for each 4wheeler, it can get a bit dusty in this area. You may want to bring your cleaner/oil for your air filters & leave them at the camp/motel.
Food : pack a lunch, extra drinking water, energy drinks,gatorade,snacks & ice.
Pactice loading your 4wheelers before you take off for your atventure summer vacation. Try not to put too much heavy weight on the rear rack & also try not to stack too high on the front rack, as some of the trails you will be on will require you to see in front of your ATV. Fender bags & tank bags will come in handy for this type of 4wheeling.
Maps ; bring along a GPS if you have one & always remember to have it "on" when you are out riding. Some forest service maps of the area will be a big help too.
Fishing is great in the Lake City area too.
Check into : www.LMProductions.com
for map & trail info on Colorado you will need the ATV trail Guide Volume Two for the Lake City/Ouray areas. These maps are not only maps but also give out important riding information too, descriptions of trails and ratings. A excellent source.
There is a Polaris dealer in Lake City at the Conoco Gas Station, so if something comes up, he will help you out. This is a 24 hour gas station, so as long as you have a credit card, you can gas up, he has diesel too.
To beat out the Jeepers, you will need to get on the trails as early as possible, like cold 6:30am.
Hope this answered most of your questions & after reviewing all I have here, I hope I didn't leave anything out.
Go out and have some fun!

 

bfb650b2,
that was a great post!

You mention Cottonwood Creek. Is this the same as taylor park? over Cottonwood pass (12,000 something feet) down to taylor reservoir? Near Gunnison?

 

Stolski, first tell me what your altitude and current jetting is. I have stock jetting on mine, but I have a snorkle mod, 3 uni vents in the airbox lid, Nyroc's muffler mod, and I am going to add a twin air or uni filter. Mine runs perfect, I have never had a problem, only been to 12,000' so far, but considering I ride at 5,000' with no changes, I would not say you HAVE to rejet. So far, I am the only P650 rider that I have come across out here, I know there have to be more, but Polaris and Honda are king out here.

I live in Denver and ride all over, but have never been down around Ouray yet. There are a ton of great trails that you can ride 60 miles in a day, or I can guide you to some extreme trails that will be 10-12 miles for a day of riding. Just depends on what you want. Lots of trails all over the state, take a look at the two books by Wells, 4WD Trails in Colorado, they have some great info in them.

If you want more info, PM me, there is another forum that has a Colorado group on it, would have all the info you would need.

 

I did leave out two very important info's on my long answer to High Mountain Riding.
Number 1 - preparing your body
Number 2 - the roads & highways in this area of Colorado.
But first this:
The Cottonwood Creek trail #2309 is south of Lake City on the Alpine Loop road, past the Carson Ghost Town/Continental Divide/Heart Lake #568 turn off. This trail/road #2309 just takes you up thru a deep canyon which dead-ends.
I was suppose to get over to the Gunnison area last summer, wanted to check out the Hancock ride #'s X839,266 & 299, I heard this road will take you to a high rairoad tunnel that was used during the 1800's mining days with spectacular scenery but I met some other riders from Texas who had no idea where to go in the Lake City area for riding, so I stayed around and was their "escort/tour guide", had allot of fun doing it.
Just gives me another reason to return to this area this summer & finally get to Hancock.
Now the two info's I left out :
#1- You, for every 1000 ft gain in altitude there's a corresponding 3% less of air-density. That is why most of us will feel out-of-breath at higher elevations. Give your body a few days first to adjust to the elevation in whatever area you are sleeping at before you begin your higher elevation climbs. If you don't let your body adjust, you could very easy suffer from High-Altitude sickness,headaches,dizzliness & extremely tired. Plan in your vacation a few days to adjust & you will have a great ATV vacation.
While riding the high-altitudes, drink plenty of water or other type of liquids,carbonated drinks are not the best to take but energy drinks are a easy source.I'm sure you all know to leave the Beer at camp/motel till after your days ride. It is very easy to work up a sweat while out riding in the high mountain country, so drink those liquids so you don't get dehydrated.
#2- The Highways, Highway US 550,all the way from I-25 north of Albuquerque,NM to Durango,Colorado to Silverton, Ouray to Montrose is a excellent highway if you are pulling a trailer full of ATV's.
Highway Interstate 160 from Durango,CO to Pagosa Springs to South Fork to State Road 149 to Creede to Lake City to Gunnision is also a excellent road for trailing ATV's.
Between Glenwood Springs Interstate I-70 and Gunnision US 50 there is a two-laner that runs thru the mountain range, highway #133 (which starts south of Glenwood Springs at Carbondale) this two-lane road has switchbacks,no guard rails, lots of Motorhomes & it does offer beautiful scenery but I was not a bit comfortable pulling a 18 foot flatbed on this highway, it is very narrow, remember this Highway- STRD #133. It may look like a short cut on the map but it would be quicker just to stay on the Interstates to reach your vacation area. You can always go up on that road on a off-day of riding, like a rainy day or take a drive up to Aspen. The road from Aspen (82) to highway US 24 (comes out south of Leadville) is another narrow twisty road.
If you can, try to take the drive thru Glenwood Springs Canyon on I-70, breath taking highway with a few long lighted tunnels.
Highway I-70 from Vail to (US 24) south to Leadville to Ponca Springs to (US 50) back to Gunnison is another good two-laner for pulling trailers.
Don't forget your camera's.
Have fun & maybe I'll see some of you up there.

 

Scooter650, I live in central Minnesota, not Montana, i'm not sure what elivation we are at. I would like to keep the degree of difficulty for the trails to moderate(my wife will be riding with me).

 

Whoops, guess I should learn to read! Its only one state across anyway....

Anyway, same things I said should apply. If you get more air to the carbs, you should be good. I have read a couple of people run the 03's with the filter lid off to get more air in there and avoid re-jetting. I have not re-jetted and don't really want to, so I can't help you out there.

I would recommend a bunch of trails just outside of Denver between Colorado Springs, some great networks with easy to moderate trails that you can ride for days! Give me a holler when you come out if you want some riding company.

 

Scooter650: Will do, we plan on being in Colorado the end of June or first week in July.

 

Scooter650, I too thought I saw Montana.

Stolski, check out L&M Productions for trail guide info, they offer 2 guides, Vol.1 & 2, with a total of 20 trail sections (click on order form) - Colorado State wide.