Paddle Boarding at Twilight Lake. Photo courtesy of Purgatory Resort.
New Trails, Mountain Bike Lessons, & More Exciting Events & Activities!
Purgatory Resort offers, for the first time in its history, regular mountain bike and scenic chairlift rides on its high-speed six-person chairlift, the Village Express Lift 1. The Twilight Lift 4 double chairlift continues to offer mountain bike and scenic chairlift rides, plus access to the Alpine Slide. Summer activities at Purgatory are open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Aug. 20, then weekends, plus Labor Day, through Oct. 8.
Opening Lift 1 to mountain bikers and scenic riders provides incredible views with a comfortable ride. It also makes Lift 4 more efficient for our alpine slide riders, which is our most popular summer activity at Purgatory, stated Colin McBeath, general manager of Purgatory Resort. Now Purgatory offers more ways to explore the mountain and enjoy Colorados beautiful summer days.
Purgatorys high-speed six-pack features padded seats and a foot rest with a birds eye view of the Needles Mountain range in the San Juans. Ride time is approximately 11 minutes to the top of Lift 1. Scenic and mountain bike riders can exit the chairlift at the top to hike around or ride on Purgatory mountain bike and hiking trails.Bike uplift tickets are $15 single ticket, $40 unlimited full-day, or $149 for the new Unlimited Uplift Pass valid all summer at Purgatory and Pajarito Mountain, located in Los Alamos, NM.
A new trail, with plenty of berms, rollers, and some step-downs, will open soon that connects the top of Lift 1 to Seventh Heaven and the trail system, which includes Durangos only lift-served downhill flow trail. Debuting in 2015, the Divinity Downhill Flow Trail provides riders with a variety of features, including table-top jumps, berms, hits, flyovers, boardwalks and more. Purgatorys flow trail is Durangos longest gravity-powered trail, meaning no pedaling is required, which is 1.5 miles long.
Home to the first World Mountain Bike Championship in 1990, Purgatory offers 14 distinct trails, plus access to additional mountain bike trails in the surrounding area. Purgatory Cycle Works Bike Shop, located slopeside at the resort, offers the latest demos and rentals, expert repairs, and friendly advice on trails and conditions. Cycle works offers mountain bike lessons for beginners to intermediates, daily through Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Coaches teach bike setup, body positioning, balance, cornering, speed management, shifting, and riding techniques. Participants learn new skills to traverse the mountain trails and mixed terrain with greater confidence. For more information and reservations, contact the Purgatory Cycle Works Bike Shop. (970) 385-2181
Purgatory offers new activities this season! Now open in the Columbine area located near the resorts entrance, the summer tubing hill provides 3 tubing lanes that are 900 feet in length. Participants ride the Columbine Lift 9 up to the tubing area for some high-speed thrills.
Also new this summer is the inclusion of water sports activities in the Total Adventure Ticket. Located across the highway from the resort, Twilight Lake features paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, pedal boats and more. Simply use a Total Adventure Ticket and enjoy up to 10 activities, such as the alpine slide, summer tubing, airbag jump, ropes course, scenic chairlift, water sports, and more. Discounted tickets are available online when purchased 48 hours in advance.
Purgatory Sports, located at 2615 Main Avenue, offers Tour de France Viewing Party throughout July from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. with free American Croissants (doughnuts), plus evening mountain bike group rides every other Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Participation is free and open to the public. Riders are split into multiple groups according to ability levels with lead and sweep riders from Purgatory Sports. The next group ride is planned for July 11. The Purgatory Sports shop is conveniently located in town on North Main Avenue and provides easy access to Overend Mountain Park, Dalla Mountain Park, Animas Mountain and the Animas River Trail. Trails will vary for Tuesday evening rides, and will also include Twin Buttes with social time immediately following the ride. For those who dont have a bike, but want to participate in the Tuesday rides, rent one for only $20 that evening. Purgatory Sports Main Ave. is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and features bikes from Rocky Mountain, Felt and Evil as well as accessories from Spy, Troy Lee Designs, Giro, Camelbak, Five Ten and Spyder.
For more information on summer activities and events at Purgatory, visit www.PurgatoryResort.com.
