Aspen followed close behind, taking the fourth spot on the list, which came out on Tuesday, August 12.
The two ski towns were praised for having the kind of safe streets and bike infrastructure that Denver's bike commuters can only dream of — but then again, all of the towns included in the list were small; Davis, California, with a population of 64,000, was the largest city to make the list.
The results were based on ratings from the nonprofits People for Bikes and the League of American Bicyclists.
People for Bikes gives places a score from 0 to 100 based on their local speed limits and bike infrastructure. The average U.S. city gets a score in the mid-20s, according to Outside. The League of American Bicyclists gives places a platinum, gold, silver or bronze status based on the number of bike lanes in a community and how well connected the lanes are. Davis was the only town on the list to earn platinum status.
Crested Butte received a score of 87 from People for Bikes and gold status from the League of American Bicyclists. Outside gave the town of fewer than 1,700 people the top spot on the list because it's "a fantastic mountain-bike mecca" and "an underrated road-cycling destination," according to the article.
The town has a downhill park, where cyclists can enjoy riding their momentum down a slope, that's served with a lift to the top, according to Outside. Crested Butte also has more than 247 bike trails and a total of 750 miles of trail, with some leading into Gunnison Valley, the article adds.
After Davis and Jackson, Wyoming, took the second and third spots on the list, Aspen came in fourth place. The popular ski and resort town has a score of 75 with People for Bikes and gold status with the League of American Bicyclists.
Outside noted that the City of Aspen has 191 bike trails and manages more than 22 miles of paved bike trails that connect different parks throughout the city. The Rio Grande Trail connects Aspen to Glenwood Springs on a 42-mile asphalt trail that excludes vehicle traffic.
The Roaring Fork Valley, which sits between Aspen and Glenwood Springs, has more than 300 miles of trails. Cyclists can bike along roads that offer views of Maroon Lake and travel to the base of Maroon Bells, a fourteener; other biking adventures available in Aspen include taking lifts down to Snowmass Mountain Resort and a multi-day trip to huts built by the 10th Mountain Division, a World War II Army unit that trained for combat on skis.
Denver might have been too big to make it on Outside's list, but it's also worth noting that biking in Denver has plenty of room for improvement. Even for a list of the best big cities for biking, Denver would likely fall short based on the list's criteria.
Biking in Denver will probably never be as nice as biking in Crested Butte or Aspen, but there's still room to improve.
Bennito L. Kelty
There have been more than 800 reported bike thefts so far this year, and nearly forty cyclists have died in Denver from traffic accidents since 2013, according to Denver's Vision Zero data dashboard.
Denver has more than 500 miles of bike lanes and trails, many of which have been added within the past ten years, but the lanes and trails aren't always connected. As a resident said in a recent town hall with the Denver mayor, "We have a lot of great bike infrastructure that's been added, but a lot of it is disconnected. It will look great for like three blocks, and then I have to ride in traffic for three blocks."
Denver has more than 500 miles of bike lanes and trails, many of which have been added within the past ten years, but the lanes and trails aren't always connected. As a resident said in a recent town hall with the Denver mayor, "We have a lot of great bike infrastructure that's been added, but a lot of it is disconnected. It will look great for like three blocks, and then I have to ride in traffic for three blocks."
Boulder didn't make the top ten, but it was still rated highly by People for Bikes, which scored the city a 70 for current bike lanes and continued local funding. That's good enough for third-best in Colorado and 34th overall in the country.
