Friday morning to Sunday afternoon
Plan Your
Weekend
Where to park, what it costs before you even get to the gate, where the bathrooms are, when the food trucks roll in, and how to not spend your first hour figuring any of it out.
The Park Entrance Fee
Is Separate
Horsetooth is a Larimer County park, and the county charges every vehicle to come through the gate. That fee is not part of your festival pass and not part of your campsite — it's a separate, per-vehicle county charge, and it applies whether you're camping, day-tripping, or just rolling in to look around.
You pay from your phone, not at a booth.
The county runs Text2Park: text LCPERMIT to 25023, or scan the QR code on the signage by the kiosk. Enter your license plate, follow the prompts, done — the permit is tied to your plate, so there's no paper to print and nothing to put on the dash.
Paying early doesn't hold you a spot
You can pay before you arrive, but the county is explicit that it does not guarantee you a parking space. The lots are first-come, and Soderberg and Blue Sky fill early on a nice weekend. Turning up early (or riding in from town) is what actually gets you parked.
Per vehicle, per day. $20 if you're towing a boat trailer.
$100 county residents, $130 non-residents. Discounted for seniors, veterans, and riders with a disability.
Already hold a Larimer County annual pass? You're set — just have it displayed. Prices are the county's, not ours, and they set them.
There is plenty — it's just spread out
Where to Park
Inlet Bay — On Site
Attendee parking right at the venue, plus a reserved block for campers who can't fit their vehicle at their site.
Circle Lot
Overflow right by the fee booth as you come in. Short roll to the venue.
Soderberg
Trailhead lot on the west side. Expect it to fill early — it's a popular trailhead regardless of the fest.
Blue Sky
Also fills fast on a nice weekend. Great if you want to start your ride from the trail rather than the venue.
South Bay Day Use
The pressure valve. Loads of space, and you get to ride Bay to Bay over to the venue — which is a good warm-up, not a punishment.
Ride From Town!
There's no shuttle this year, so the easiest way to skip the parking question is to leave the car at home and pedal out. Call it your warm-up.
Every one of these lots needs a county entrance permit. One permit covers your vehicle wherever you park it in the park — but you do need one.
Get your bearings
The Venue
Venue map coming soon
We're putting together a proper labelled map of the festival grounds — check-in, the demo village, food trucks, the beverage tent, restrooms, and where to roll out to the trails. It'll land here before the festival.
Camping in a specific spot? Your assigned site comes by email beforehand — see how camping works.
How the weekend actually goes
Day by Day
Friday · Sept 25
- 10am
- Roll in, check in, get your wristband and swag bag. Campers set up — camp hosts will point you to your assigned site. Demo and vendor villages open all day.
- 10:30 – 12:30
- Group Rides A & B roll out — the Tour of Lory and the Tour of Horsetooth.
- 11am – 1pm
- Cornering Mini-Clinic with Ninja MTB Performance — sign up on Ninja's site, not with your pass (details below). Beer service opens at 11.
- 1:30 – 3:30
- Group Rides C & D — the Women's Ride and the Blue Sky Cruise. Second Ninja clinic, Intro to Jumping, runs 2 – 4pm — also booked through Ninja.
- Evening
- Beer service ends 3:30, venue closes at 4 — so plan dinner or head into town, then happy hour in the campground (time TBD).
Saturday · Sept 26
- 9am
- The big day. Poker Ride check-in opens early — stations out on the trail network.
- 10am – 2pm
- Poker Ride window. Ride the course, collect your cards, best hand wins.
- All day
- Demo village, vendor village, two food trucks. Beer service 11am – 3:30pm.
- 2:30pm
- Poker Ride cards dealt and prizes handed out under the big tent.
- Evening
- Venue closes at 4, then happy hour in the campground (time TBD).
Sunday · Sept 27
- 9am – 12pm
- Take a Kid Mountain Biking / Family Day — free, for ages 4–16. Trail riding with a 6-stop punch card 9am–11am, then Games on Bikes with Dude Dad (Taylor Calmus) in the main festival area 11am–12pm.
- 9:30 – 11:30
- Group Rides A & C — the Tour of Lory and the Women's Ride. Demo village open right up to the end; last chance on the bike you've been eyeing.
- 12pm
- Take a Kid awards and the raffle drawing, including the $500 Recycled Cycles bike gift card.
- 12:30 – 2:30
- Group Rides B & D — the Tour of Horsetooth and the Blue Sky Cruise. Beer service 11am – 2pm.
- 3pm
- Venue closes. Pack up, campsites clear out, and the crew starts breaking down.
Times may shift a little — we'll keep this page current
Pick a letter, meet at the venue
The Group Rides
Four guided rides, each running twice over the weekend — once Friday, once Sunday. Every ride is group-paced, and where a route has options, the group votes with its legs.
Ride A · Tour of Lory
A figure-8 on Lory's valley trails, and the group decides whether to tack on Timber–Kimmons or Quarry Ridge while you're out there.
12–15 mi · 1,600–1,800 ft climbing · Intermediate / Adv. Intermediate
Ride B · Tour of Horsetooth
Head up Stout Connector, then the group picks the line — Stout, Sawmill, Carey Springs, Loggers, and Mill Creek are all on the table — with valley trails to bring you home.
12–14 mi · 2,000–2,400 ft climbing · Adv. Intermediate / Advanced
Ride C · The Women's Ride
A ride by and for the women of the fest. There's a general route in mind, and the leaders will confirm it with the group based on who shows up.
~10–12 mi (route TBD) · 1,200–1,400 ft climbing · Intermediate / Adv. Intermediate
Ride D · Blue Sky Cruise
Cruise the Blue Sky Trail, with the group deciding between the Indian Summer loop and the Bay to Bay Trail.
12–14 mi · 1,200–1,400 ft climbing · Intermediate
10 riders per ride · everyone meets at the main venue tent
Level up on Friday
Skills Clinics
Two mini-clinics coached by Ninja Mountain Bike Performance, right at the venue on Friday · Sept 25. Small groups, real coaching, and skills you'll use on every ride after.
Cornering Mini-Clinic
All levels
Two hours on body position, line choice, and traction control with hands-on coaching and real-time feedback — more speed, more flow, and fewer sketchy moments in corners.
Sign Up with NinjaIntro to Jumping Mini-Clinic
First-time jumpers, or anyone building safe technique before going bigger
Two hours on the fundamentals — takeoff, landing, body position, and bike control — in a supportive setting, so you leave ready to start sending small jumps without the fear.
Sign Up with NinjaClinics are coached, insured, and sold by Ninja directly. Sign up and pay on their site — they're not included in any festival pass and aren't sold through Humanitix. Spots are limited — if a clinic shows sold out, the waitlist is on the same page.
You will not go hungry
Food & Drink
Friday
- Yes Chef!
Food service wraps when the venue closes at 4pm.
Saturday
- Yes Chef!
- Beautiful Life Bowl
Two trucks, all day.
Sunday
- Ewald's Smoke Pit
- C/G Coffee Co
Fuel up before you drive home.
Beer & drinks
Beverages are included with the Weekend Pro and Weekend Social passes, and the Poker Ride pass comes with 2 beverage tickets. Everyone else can buy drink tickets at the tent for $5 each. Beer is 21+, so bring your ID.
Cooking at your site
Plenty of campers do their own food, and every campsite is powered. Check current fire restrictions with the county before you count on a fire.
The Practical Stuff
- Restrooms
- Porta-potties and hand-washing stations at the venue, deliberately placed at the opposite end from the food trucks. Permanent restrooms and showers are up by the drop-off area, plus more in the campground and down by the marina.
- Water
- Spigots scattered through the campground and at the trailheads. Bring a bottle or bladder and top up — you'll want more than you think in September sun.
- Trash
- Dumpsters throughout the campground and day-use areas, plus cans at the venue. Pack out what you take onto the trail.
- Cell service
- Spotty, and it gets worse above the ridge. Download your maps offline before you ride and don't count on a signal to pay for anything.
- First aid
- Staffed tent at the venue, shared with the info booth. Rangers are on site all weekend.
- Bike parking
- Bike racks near the entry. Bring a lock if you're leaving anything nice unattended — overnight security patrols the venue, but a lock is a lock.
- Dogs
- Larimer County park rules apply: leashed at all times, and clean up after them. On busy multi-use trails, a leash is genuinely the difference between fine and a bad afternoon.
We're guests out there
On the Trails
The trails stay open
We don't close anything down. Every trail is multi-use and open to the public all weekend — hikers, runners, horses, families who have no idea a festival is happening. Ride like it.
Say hi
Slow down, give people room, be the reason someone thinks mountain bikers are alright. This is Overland's home turf and we'd like to keep it that way.
Ride your ability
Some of this network punches above what people expect — Mill Creek in particular is a descent, not a climb. Ask at the info tent for suggested loops by ability before you commit.
Navigation
Trail Forks and MTB Project both have the network mapped. Download it offline before you leave the venue, because service disappears above the ridge.
And the reservoir's right there
There's a dock by the boat ramp and open shoreline along the campground, and by late September the beach is well exposed. Bring whatever floats — one of the shops is even bringing demo paddleboards. The boat ramp stays active all weekend, so give trailers room and keep an eye on kids near the water.
Pack List
- A camp chair — seating under the tents is limited on purpose
- Helmet (required for demos) and your own pedals if you ride clipped in
- Photo ID — every demo booth holds one while you've got their bike
- Water bottle or bladder, plus a spare tube and a multi-tool
- Layers. September at 5,400 ft swings hard between afternoon and night
- Your license plate number — you'll need it to pay the county entrance fee by phone
- A lock, if you're leaving a nice bike at the racks
- Sunscreen. The exposure out here is real
That's the
Whole Plan
Grab a pass, buy your park permit, and we'll handle the rest.