# Lands End Road, Mesa County, Colorado



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Here's some shots and a review of my June 11, 2007 spin up Lands End Road to the top of Grand Mesa in Mesa County, Colorado. I left my mountain bike at home this time and sought the switchbacks I'd seen on my Gazzetter. 

I started in the Redlands, a neighborhood just west of Grand Junction (a.k.a. "The Junk"), and at the foot of the Colorado National Monument, whih is another great ride. I was on the bike just after 6:00 a.m. It gets hot in the Grand Valley. It was a good 60+ degrees when I started, although luckily, the high was only in the 90s on this day. 

I rolled down Highway 340 over the Colorado River a few miles before it exits the state and just below its confluence with the Gunnison River. This is the so-called "grand junction" to which the city's name refers. At this point, the elevation is around 4,600 feet. It was then south and east on Highway 50 through the less-than lovely Orchard Mesa and down along the main stem of Gunnison River towards Delta, another gem of a city on the western slope. This part of the ride was fairly flat with windswept rolling hills amid a sea of brown, dry tufts of grass. 

At Kannah Creek, I turned left onto Kannah Creek Road, which becomes Lands Ends Road upwards on the Grand Mesa, one of (if not the largest) flat top mountains in the world. The first six miles are paved with essentially no shoulder although there is little traffic to speak of. The climb starts gently as most do, but it soon turns to steep and grueling. 

After six miles, you enter the Grand Mesa National Forest and the pavement ends. The road was packed clay and very rideable for the first ten or so miles but becomes softer with thick gravel later on. I imagine that the occasional gravel washboard becomes looser as the summer progresses. There are endless switchbacks and stellar views over the course of the almost 6,000 feet up to the end of the road. The elevation also gives you reprise from the heat. There are few sections steeper than 10% (I imagine) but due to the fact that it's dirt, you have to stay in the saddle. 

At the top, somewhere around 10,500 feet, there is an observatory and restrooms. It was about 36 miles from where I started. You can see as far as the La Sal Mountains to the west and the San Juans to the south, not to mention killer views of the edge of the Uncompagnre Mesa, Grand Mesa, and the Valley. The ride down in no picnic, even in nice conditions due to the lack of pavement. I flatted once due to a particularly pointy rock. 

This was one of the most beautiful climbs I've ever ridden, although I would not recommend it to most on a road bike. I road my Gios with 50/34 --11/23 gears and 23mm Michelin tires. The sidewalls took a beating but performed well. To ride this one a roadie, you need to really like riding on the dirt, like I do. You also need to be a camel and be able to ride with little water. There is no place to refill your bottles or buy a snack anywhere outside of The Junk. It would be a great ride on a cross bike or a cross country mountain bike where you could hook up with the Kannah Creek trail system part-way up. All in all, I would rate tthis climb as Fergilicious.


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## Icculus (Mar 14, 2007)

Thank you!!


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Nice ride report. Excellent view at the top.


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## Robbie59 (Apr 12, 2006)

Outstanding! Man, the clouds really dressed up your pics on this ride--even though the landscape stands quite well on its own.


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## Chain (Dec 28, 2006)

Nide ride and better pics.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Thanks. I really need to get my own digital camera.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

[email protected], just [email protected] that looks nice (great photography too).


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## supercorsa (Apr 23, 2002)

fantastic, thanks for posting. need to make a road trip up your way one of these days and ride that.


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