Galena Grinder

With our time in Ketchum (Idaho) winding down, I’m scrambling to find (new-to-me) high alpine riding areas that are open for the season; many locations remain buried in snow/mud or are temporarily off-limits due to seasonal closures aimed at protecting mothering elks and their newly born calves.

Hmm … now what?

Enter the #galenatrails, or more specifically the #galenagrinder mountain bike course, to the rescue.

One of Idaho’s longest running races, the course is steeped in history and hits most of the trail network over a 25 mile effort.

Checking off multiple boxes (mixed terrain, hills, beautiful scenery, etc.), it was a no-brainer to download the course to my GPS, drive 30 minutes to the trailhead, and under deep blue skies get lost in the backcountry for a few a hours.

While places like Moab and Sedona routinely get all the MTB love (and deservingly so) these big mountain trails will always be my preferred scene.