Recap: Colton Point SP Camping + Gravel
The plan: Earlier this year we bikepacked the Pine Creek Rail Trail with Peter DiBiase who lives in the area. The Colton Point State Park group campsite was our second night on the trip and we thought it could be a nice base camp for gravel biking.
We put together some dates for the trip and Peter put together a number of routes that start in the campground. There are three group campsites and site #1 is a big field next to the parking lot and pit toilets. Site #2 and #3 have a lot of trees which limits the number of tents. Each site supports 30 people and we had 15 people on the site with plenty of extra space.
The group campsite is on Deadman Hollow Rd. across the road from the Pine Creek gorge overlook. The road is closed to autos so we saw very little traffic. Each morning we took our coffee and walked over to see the fog down in the valley. Each morning we were treated to a different view.
Our trip consisted of the six and a half hour drive on a Saturday and we stayed until Wednesday. Each full day we organized a gravel ride and people could choose to ride or hike the numerous trails in the area.
Colton Point State Park campground gravel routes
Camp life included lots bonfires, food and tents. Three of the nights were clear with no moon which afforded us views of shooting stars, the International Space Station and Starlink satellites hurtling through space. We also had a bugnet tent and two Tardis (look it up if you don’t get the reference). The Tardis served as changing rooms and a makeshift shower. Nights were chilly and we had some sprinkles on two days. The nights were quiet but we did hear owls a hootin’, coyotes yelping and attacking something and a deer walked into camp and was huffing over our intrusion.
Ride One: Pine Creek/West Rim Rd Route.
We dropped off the paved ridge road down to Ansonia and then jumped on the Pine Creek Rail Trail. As we headed south we saw a bald eagle sitting in a tree across the creek. Halfway through we stopped in Blackwell at Millers for some snacks and lunch. It started sprinkling as we headed across the river and climbed up to the ridge. The second half of the route is all of the climbing (2800 feet of climbing) and has numerous overlooks.
Ride Two: Gaines Twp 21
The campground is on Deadman Hollow Rd and we turned left out of the parking lot and climbed to the peak and then dropped over 5 miles to Pine Creek. The route follows the creek for a couple miles before a slow climb turns into a wall of 18-20% grade at the top. We originally wanted to ride more miles but the prior days mileage was on the mind of many so we did 21 miles and ended with 2100 feet of climbing. We stopped to eat some snacks along the way but the gnats were overwhelming so we kept moving. We never could figure out why the gnats were so aggressive during the day and disappeared at night.
Ride Three: Asaph Loop 37
We once again dropped off the ridge on the paved road down to Ansonia and the Pine Creek Rail Trail but headed north this time. There were only five roads in the middle section of the route. Marsh Creek is paved at the start and turns into Asaph (gravel) and then forks to climb to the ridge. There are three routes using Asaph and we chose to stay on the ridge by turning onto a swoopy Sand Road. Turning right onto Baldwin took us across the ridge and then a 5 mile downhill to the northern end of the Pine Creek Rail Trail. Unfortunately Baldwin was recently chip and sealed because of gas well exploration. We stopped at Pag-Omar Farms Market for lunch. The market has lots of snacks and a deli with some really large sandwiches. We took the trail south and then climbed back up to the campground.
