The NoCo MTB Fest is happening this weekend, September 25th-27th, and this year’s festival moves to Horsetooth. After being based at Lory State Park for the past several years, the Northern Colorado Mountain Bike Festival is moving its headquarters to Inlet Bay Campground at Horsetooth Reservoir.
The new location puts festival headquarters directly alongside the Horsetooth trail network and camping, with more than 75 miles of singletrack across the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space and adjoining Lory State Park trail network accessible from the festival grounds.
The three-day festival includes group rides, demo bikes, Ninja MTB Performance skills clinics, the Poker Ride, vendors, food, camping and a full schedule of family activities.
A New Festival Headquarters
For regular NoCo MTB Fest attendees, the move to Inlet Bay will be the most noticeable change this year. Rather than setting up festival headquarters at Lory State Park, organizers will base the 2026 event at Inlet Bay Campground at Horsetooth Reservoir.
The new location also offers festival camping directly at the event headquarters, with riders able to access the surrounding trail network from camp.
Group Rides and Skills Clinics
Four guided group rides are scheduled throughout the weekend: the Tour of Lory, Tour of Horsetooth, Women’s Ride and Blue Sky Cruise.
The rides range from approximately 10 to 15 miles, with 1,200 to 2,400 feet of climbing. Each ride is limited to 10 riders.
Ninja MTB Performance will also offer skills clinics covering cornering and jumping, with limited registration available for each clinic.
Demo Bikes
The festival’s demo area will give riders an opportunity to try bikes from participating brands on the surrounding Horsetooth trails.
More than 100 demo bikes are expected to be available throughout the weekend. Demo bikes are first come, first served, and riders should bring a helmet and photo ID.
The Poker Ride
Saturday brings the NoCo MTB Fest Poker Ride from 10am to 2pm.
Riders will visit five checkpoints on the Horsetooth trail network and collect a playing card at each location before returning to festival headquarters. Poker Ride awards are scheduled for 2:30pm.
Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day
Sunday morning is Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, running from 9am to noon.
The free event is designed for kids ages 4 to 16 and includes skills challenges, trail riding, a six-stop Punch Card Challenge, games and prizes.
The Punch Card Challenge combines self-guided trail riding with activity stations. Kids can also participate in skills challenges including the Slow Ride, Gear 1 Fast Pedal Sprint and Foot Down Arena.
The event will also include Games on Bikes with Dude Dad, Taylor Calmus, followed by awards and a bike giveaway.
Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day is free, making it an option for families who may not be attending the festival for the entire weekend.
This Weekend
The NoCo MTB Fest runs September 25th-27th at Inlet Bay Campground at Horsetooth Reservoir.
Registration is available for the festival, camping, group rides, demos, Ninja skills clinics and Poker Ride. Some activities have limited capacity, so organizers recommend signing up ahead of time.
And if you have a kid who wants to get out on a mountain bike, Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day runs Sunday from 9am to noon.
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