Colorado Springs has been investing in mountain bike infrastructure for years. Recent examples include the new Blodgett Mountain Bike Park and ongoing conversations about master-planning Pikeview Quarry. What the region still lacks is the formal recognition and coordinated marketing that comes with an official International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) Ride Center designation.
Pikes Peak Outdoors is leading the effort to change that—and local trail experts just gave the idea a clear green light.
What Local Leaders Actually Said
In August 2026, Pikes Peak Outdoors asked a group of mountain bike community leaders and advocates to rate the region’s trails and features against IMBA’s Ride Center badges (Frontcountry, Backcountry, Gravity, and Bike Park). Across roughly 170 individual ratings, the results were strongly positive:
- 69% of ratings were “A perfect example” or “Pretty good, nearly there”
- Only 11% were negative
- Overall average score: 3.89 out of 5
Respondents were optimistic that the Pikes Peak region can achieve Ride Center designation, provided two things happen: connectivity gaps get addressed and the strongest official trails are selected for each badge.
What an IMBA Ride Center Actually Means
An IMBA Ride Center is third-party validation that a community’s trail network meets clear standards across multiple categories. Designated Ride Centers become easier to market as destinations. They help attract riders from outside the region, strengthen the case for continued trail investment, support local shops and guides, and signal to outdoor businesses that this is a serious place to locate and grow.
For Colorado Springs and the wider Pikes Peak region (El Paso, Teller, and Fremont counties), the practical benefits are straightforward:
- Stronger destination marketing for mountain biking
- Better quality of life and recreation access for residents
- A clearer platform for attracting and retaining outdoor industry employers
- A more compelling case for the next round of trail and access investments
The Bigger Vision
Beyond the immediate designation work, the longer-term picture is worth sketching. Imagine improved recreational access that includes lift-served or shuttle-supported terrain in places like Cheyenne Mountain State Park, expanded opportunities at Red Rock Canyon Open Space, and thoughtful connections around the massif that make more of the mountain available without relying solely on long climbs or road gaps. Pair that with a fully master-planned Pikeview site and continued development of places like Blodgett, and Colorado Springs moves from a solid regional riding area to a world-class destination.
None of that happens overnight. It continues with the IMBA assessment, the policy work that allows events and appropriate access on newly acquired ground, and the deliberate choice to package the strongest existing systems rather than force weaker ones into the application.
How the Community Can Help
Pikes Peak Outdoors is raising support for the formal IMBA assessment through a coalition of partners rather than asking any single organization to carry the full cost. Shared investment creates shared ownership.
You can:
- Contribute to the assessment fund
- Advocate for connectivity projects and master-planning of key sites such as Pikeview
- Support policy updates that make race events and appropriate trail access clearer on Trails and Open Space lands
- Share the vision with elected officials, land managers, and local outdoor businesses
- Stay engaged as the process moves forward and opportunities for input open up
The trails are already strong enough that local experts treat Ride Center status as achievable. The community energy is here. The infrastructure investments are underway. What we need now is the focused push—assessment, connectivity, intentional packaging of our best systems, and marketing—to turn that strength into formal recognition.
Colorado Springs has been building toward this for a long time. Let’s continue the work and put the Pikes Peak region on the map as an official IMBA Ride Center.
If you ride here, work in the outdoor industry here, or simply care about the future of outdoor recreation in this region, this is the moment to lean in. Reach out to Pikes Peak Outdoors and help shape the next chapter.
