This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route begins in Rawlins, Wyoming. South of that windy, rough-hewn Wyoming community the high desert rises to meet the even higher Sierra Madre Range, leading the way into Colorado and Steamboat Springs, the first in a string of ski towns visited. After following the paved Blue River trail system through bustling Summit County and the town of Breckenridge, the route crosses the Continental Divide at Boreas Pass and descends into the broad, windswept basin known as South Park. South of the small town of Hartsel it climbs back into the mountains, then drops into the high-valley village of Salida.