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+ 144

Continental Divide Trail: Rabbit Ears Pass to Steamboat Springs (Mountain View; Pete's Wicked Trail)

Mountain Biking Trail

Hard
29.89 mi
2,685 ft
A gorgeous pedal through the alpine on top of Rabbit Ears Pass along the Continental Divide Trail leads to a never-ending descent all the way back into the town of Steamboat Springs.

The Rabbit Ears Pass area lies about 3,500 feet above the town of Steamboat Springs at an altitude of roughly 10,000 feet, but despite its relatively high elevation this area is quite flat. Here, the Continental Divide Trail rolls smoothly along a high plateau, passing by gorgeous alpine lakes and through meadows full of wildflowers.

While the terrain may be mellow, after departing Rabbit Ears Pass the area is extremely remote and far from help—the perfect blend of easy access and backcountry seclusion.

Once on the Mountain View trail the singletrack gets narrower and more sinuous. The trail lives up to its name, with alpine meadows providing gorgeous vistas of the surrounding mountain peaks.

Mountain View wraps around and brings you to Mount Werner and the upper reaches of Steamboat Ski Resort. Finally, it's time to open the suspension up and shred! Pete's Wicked Descent drops you down from the top of Werner and while there aren't any huge technical features, endless medium-sized rocks can prove rough at high speed.

Once into the resort's primary area for summer operations there are a number of options for descending down to the base, although you may need to possess a lift ticket or season pass to ride the downhill-only trails. However, there's also a bi-directional trail that provides an intermediate-friendly rip down to the base.

The two halves of this route are quite different from each other, but both help make this ride a local favorite. Beautiful alpine singletrack with gorgeous views and ripping descending—what a rad combination! Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Dumont to Basecamp3.71 mi459 ft2.2%
Dumont to Storm Peak15.87 mi846 ft0.9%
Wyoming Trail to Long Lake8.23 mi525 ft0.7%
Punch to the Gut0.26 mi171 ft12.4%
Basecamp to Intersection4.72 mi377 ft0.4%
My wife thinks I am Stupid.2.07 mi-246 ft-1.8%
Mountain View Trail propper6.42 mi568 ft1.3%
Unnamed Rd Climb0.98 mi292 ft5.6%
Unnamed Rd Climb0.50 mi305 ft11.5%
Ful Pete's2.27 mi-1,175 ft-9.8%
Pete's Wicked Trail DH1.61 mi-804 ft-9.4%
Pete’s wicked lower0.32 mi-249 ft-14.6%
Pete’s Wicked bottom 0.37 mi-203 ft-10.4%
Pete's climb to Duster0.32 mi151 ft8.7%
Lower Rustlers2.04 mi-896 ft-8.3%
Lower Rustler after coaster1.64 mi-768 ft-8.8%
Valley View to Rustlers Ridge DH1.76 mi-791 ft-8.5%
Buckin' Bronco to base 0.67 mi-279 ft-7.8%
E-Z Rider (proper) 0.83 mi-259 ft-5.8%
Lower EZ-Rider0.66 mi-220 ft-6.3%
Rockies Way Climb0.37 mi-56 ft-2.7%
werner core to downtown2.06 mi-52 ft-0.5%
Fetcher Park to Hilltop0.83 mi-20 ft-0.4%
train tracks to core bridge0.38 mi-26 ft-1.3%
howelsen/core to 9th0.61 mi-10 ft-0.2%