Newman > Bicycling > Towers Road
Towers Road is a dirt service road in Horsetooth Mountain Park that climbs from near the Soderberg trailhead up to the cluster of TV and Radio transmission towers north of Horsetooth Rock. Some of the steeper sections of the road have gradient approaching 20%, and the average gradient for the route shown here is about 9%. Riding the Towers Road is physically demanding because it is so steep, but the road is not technically demanding. If the road is dry and dusty, traction can be a problem. If it has rained recently, traction can be good. The soil is mostly decomposed granite, so there's little mud after a rain.
The map and the profile below begin at the Soderberg trailhead in Horsetooth Mountain Park (visible in the lower right corner of the map below), and go to one of the three sets of towers at the top. It then goes down just a little and climbs back up to a second set of towers. The third set of towers is on a high point a little south of the two sets visited on this map. A number of other trails intersect the Towers Road, they can be seen on the Larimer County Map of Horsetooth Mountain Park. The county map is great for navigation, but does not include a profile like the one below. The route illustrated here travels a little less than 3.5 miles and climbs about 1685 feet.
The Soderberg trailhead is north of Inlet Bay Marina (a Google Map of this location and the following route is available here). To get there, take County Road 38E (aka Harmony Road) west from its intersection with CR 19 (aka South Taft Hill Road) in Fort Collins, pass the intersection with CR23 just south of the Spring Canyon Dam, continue around the southern end of Horsetooth Reservoir and go past the entrance to the South Bay area, where there is a boat ramp and camping. Go up the hill and pass an overlook on the right, then descend a steep hill from which you can see the Marina to your right. Continue on around the sweeping right turn and turn right onto Shoreline Drive as if you're going to the Marina. Follow Shoreline Drive past the marina and the camping areas until you see the trailhead on the left. If you ride up CR38E from Fort Collins, it's possible to get off the pavement a little earlier. To do this, turn right down the dirt road just before the Blue Sky Trail underpass, near the bottom of the steep downhill that begins as you pass the Horsetooth Reservoir Overlook on the right. Follow the trail to the north past the marina and through the camping areas until you get to the trailhead. Larimer County also has directions to this site. Riding in Horsetooth Mountain Park requires a permit, which I believe is $6 for the day. If you have an annual Larimer County Parks pass, you need not buy a daily permit.
While one can descend the Towers Road after climbing it, my current favorite route is to climb the Towers road, as shown above, then descend back down the road about 0.6 of a mile to the intersection of the Spring Creek Trail and the Towers Road. I then continue down the Spring Creek Trail and go a short distance on Herrington Trail to the Stout Trail. I follow the Stout Trail to the Sawmill Trail, crossing the Towers Road along the way. Then I descend on the Sawmill trail to the Nomad Trail and follow Nomad back to the south before returning to the Soderberg trailhead. This route is shown on the map below, and it may be helpful to look at the county map.
Newman > Bicycling > Towers Road
Last Modified: 17 April 2009
By: David Newman