[Gravel Ride] Chatfield State Park

Chatfield State Park is one of the closest state parks to Denver – only 30 minutes southwest of downtown – making it a popular destination for camping, cycling, boating and running. The Chatfield Reservoir sits on the north side of the park with a large dam making it a dramatic part of the park with trails and picnic tables surrounding it. You’ll find many triathletes riding on the dedicated bike lane and runners and walkers using the interior paved path. At the beach, you’ll find people swimming and stand up paddleboarding.

We brought our gravel bikes down to Chatfield State Park and sought out as much gravel as we could find around the park. We parked at Wadsworth and Deer Creek Canyon Road and headed northeast. The trail connects with the High Line Canal Trail for a bit as it wraps around the park. The big bummer about the loop around the park is that it doesn’t fully connect yet (summer of 2020), meaning that we had to ride on Santa Fe Drive for a few minutes before exiting on Titan Drive and finding the trail again. We hooked up with the High Line Canal trail once again and made our way back to our vehicle.