Twenty-four thousand acres of riding country, a river through town, an alpine reservoir up the creek, and a volcano down the interstate. Here is everything to get into.
Hardscrabble is the reason riders know Gypsum. Roughly 24,000 acres of public land climb between Gypsum and Eagle, holding 44 miles of motorcycle trail, 45 miles of road, designated side-by-side and ATV routes, and a motorcycle terrain park. Trailheads sit off Buckhorn Valley Boulevard and Spring Creek Road, minutes from any driveway in town.
North of town, the Gypsum Hills are the 4x4 side of the story: named rock-crawling routes from Tie Rod Bender at the approachable end to Ten Falls at the very extreme end, with Middle Middle and Upper Middle in between. Bring a built rig and a spotter.
Few towns anywhere own a motocross park. Gypsum's is Dry Lake Motocross Park, 160 acres overseen by the Rocky Mountain Sport Riders, a family-oriented nonprofit club that has been protecting and expanding dirt bike riding in this valley since 1996. More than 550 members strong, recognized by the Forest Service, the BLM, and Eagle County, with annual membership at $25 and riders under 18 free. It is the clearest proof of what makes this town different: the machines are welcome here, and the people who ride them take care of the place.
Pair a morning at Dry Lake with an afternoon loop in Hardscrabble and you have a full riding day without touching a trailer twice. Back in town, the Sports Complex adds a skatepark and pickleball courts for the unmotorized members of the crew.
Track info at Rocky Mountain Sport Riders →
The same Hardscrabble country that draws the motos holds a network of singletrack and doubletrack that connects clear through to Eagle's trail system. Most of it is mixed use, so expect to share with hikers, horses, and machines, and ride it in that spirit.
For a long gravel day, point up Gypsum Creek Road toward LEDE Reservoir and climb from high desert into aspen. And for the valley's best-kept road-ride secret: the paved Eagle Valley Trail now runs unbroken through Gypsum in both directions, east along the river to Eagle and beyond, and west through the newly completed Dotsero segment straight into the Glenwood Canyon Recreation Path. Gypsum is the hinge of a nearly complete 63-mile off-highway trail from Vail Pass to Glenwood Springs.
The Eagle River runs right through Gypsum on its last miles to the Colorado at Dotsero, and this lower stretch is the quiet star of the valley's fishing. Brown and rainbow trout hold through town and below, and in a normal water year it fishes exceptionally well, with a fraction of the pressure the upper river sees.
Float trips have an in-town put-in at the Gypsum Ponds State Wildlife Area, with several take-outs downstream of Gypsum; the last take-out for floats is Duck Pond Open Space, just west of town. Flows swing hard between runoff and late summer, so read the live gauge before you commit to a plan.
Want to go guided? Colorado River Outfitters is the local guide outfit for this water: licensed, wade and float trips on the Eagle and the Colorado, and the kind of day-by-day local knowledge you only get from guides who live on these rivers.
Live river conditions USGS gauge
Gypsum Creek Road climbs south out of town, past ranches and aspen, to LEDE Reservoir at 9,573 feet on Forest Service land. The lake is stocked with trout, the camping is free, dispersed, and first come, first served, and the drive itself is one of the best evening tours in the county.
The name is the four ranchers who built the dam in the 1930s: Lundgren, Erickson, Doll, and Engstrom. Snow closes the top of the road most years from October into May, so June through September is the season. The reservoir sits at 14000 Gypsum Creek Road.
Gypsum camps in three styles: full-hookup comfort on the Eagle River, first-come sites you can drive to, and free dispersed country where the road ends and the quiet starts.
A private RV resort on the Eagle River about four miles from town: full hookups for rigs up to 65 feet, 30/50 amp power, and private river frontage for fishing and tubing steps from your pad.
riverdancepark.com →The BLM Gypsum Campground puts about eight first-come sites right on the Eagle River, open mid-May to mid-November, with easy I-70 access. Deep Creek adds roadside sites with tables and fire rings at the canyon mouth.
BLM details →Free dispersed camping rings LEDE Reservoir at 9,573 feet, and the Coffee Pot Road corridor climbs past walk-in sites toward Deep Lake. Pack out everything, know the fire rules, and it stays this good.
Up Gypsum Creek →
Gypsum sits in Game Management Unit 44, mule deer country with a national reputation. The unit's genetics produce some of the largest trophy-class bucks in the lower 48, and the surrounding country carries healthy elk herds. From archery in September through the rifle seasons of October and November, fall is what this town does best.
Gypsum Creek Outfitters guides deer and elk in the unit for hunters who want local knowledge. Before the season, sight in at the town's shooting sports park. Year round, respect private land boundaries and the winter closures that keep the herds strong.
Gypsum Creek Outfitters
Six miles west of town sits something no other town in Colorado can claim as a neighbor: the state's only active volcano. Dotsero Crater blew about 4,200 years ago, leaving a crater roughly 2,300 feet across and a lava flow nearly two miles long. Interstate 70 crosses that flow today, which means you have probably driven over a volcano without knowing it.
A short, steep trail climbs to the rim, under 2 miles round trip, with views down into the crater and out over the meeting of the Eagle and Colorado rivers. The BLM recreation site is free, and a high-clearance vehicle helps on the rough access road.
BLM site info
Ten minutes past Dotsero, Deep Creek pours out of the Flat Tops through a canyon 2,400 feet deep, wild enough that it is a candidate for national Wild and Scenic designation. The mouth sits on Colorado River Road, 1.6 miles north of the Dotsero exit, with a BLM campground and day-use sites along the creek.
Coffee Pot Road climbs about 30 miles from the canyon mouth to Deep Lake on the rim of the Flat Tops, passing a canyon overlook near mile 16 that stops every first-timer. Fish the creek, camp the rim, and if you know what you are doing, the canyon walls hide caves that draw spelunkers from across the state.
BLM Deep Creek info
The white hills north of town are the town. They hold the gypsum deposits that gave the place its name, and American Gypsum works them today as Colorado's largest gypsum mine. The rock feeds a wallboard plant that ships on the order of 600 million square feet of drywall a year, which means walls all over America started as a Gypsum hillside.
The mine cuts the soft rock with surface miners rather than blasting, shaving it in quiet passes. It is a working landmark, not a tourist stop, but it explains the view, the rail spur, and the name on the map.
Yes. Colorado requires a current OHV registration or nonresident OHV permit for dirt bikes, ATVs, and side-by-sides on public land and designated routes. Riding is limited to designated routes in Hardscrabble and the Gypsum Hills. Check the Stay The Trail map for legal routes and current rules before you ride.
LEDE sits at 9,573 feet, and snow typically limits access from October through May. June through September is the reliable window for camping and fishing. Camping is free, dispersed, and first come, first served on Forest Service land.
Short but steep: under 2 miles round trip to the rim, and most people are up and back in about an hour. The access road is rough, so high clearance helps. The site is free and generally open whenever winter conditions allow.
The local put-in is the public access at the Gypsum Ponds State Wildlife Area, with take-outs downstream toward the Colorado confluence at Dotsero. Flows swing fast between runoff and late summer, so check the live Eagle River gauge on the home page before you launch.
Check the live conditions, see what is in town, and if you are landing at EGE, start with the fly-in guide.
Check conditions The fly-in guide