The Royal Gorge Rumble
Home to the Colorado High School Cycling League's Canon City race weekend, a six-mile course built by our community, already bringing measured economic impact to the region.
Built by the Community, Raced by the League
In 2025, the Colorado High School Cycling League chose Canon City to host a new race venue for 50 high schools and nearly 1,000 riders. Community volunteers completed a six-mile race course entirely on Royal Gorge Ranch & Resort land, near the property's historic Buckskin Joe site, in under five months.
The course climbs roughly 550 feet over its six miles, crosses the property's old railroad trestles, meanders through open meadows, and works through technical rocky sections in the forested terrain. A separate 0.9-mile warm-up loop sits near the start and finish area. The League has confirmed its return for the 2026 Royal Gorge Rumble, October 9-11.
~6 Mile Course
Plus a 0.9-mile warm-up loop, entirely on Royal Gorge Ranch & Resort land.
~550 ft Elevation Gain
Meadows, forested singletrack, and the property's historic railroad trestles.
50 High Schools
Nearly 1,000 riders and their families visited Canon City for the 2025 race weekend.
Measured Economic Impact, Today
The Colorado High School Cycling League commissioned RRC Associates to independently survey riders, coaches, parents, and volunteers after the October 4-5, 2025 Canon City Royal Gorge Rumble. The figures below are the report's own numbers.
Surveyed at the 2025 Royal Gorge Rumble race weekend.
Measured spending brought to Canon City in a single race weekend, per the League's independent RRC Associates study.
Against $1,000 in event funding, the report's own return-on-investment figure.
66% of surveyed attendees rated the event a 9 or 10 out of 10.
$126 Average Spend Per Attendee
Direct spending in Canon City during the race weekend, by category.
- Restaurants, bars & food concessions$49
- Lodging$29
- Shopping (groceries, souvenirs, clothing, gifts)$23
- Other non-lodging items$17
- Other recreation$9
Source: Economic Impact Report, Colorado High School Cycling League, Canon City Royal Gorge Rumble 2025 (RRC Associates). 60% of overnight riders and families lodged inside Canon City; most attendees traveled from outside Fremont County.
The Course
Because the course sits on private Ranch land, it is not published to public trail apps, so course maps are shared directly by the League.
Race Weekend on the Ranch
Riders, volunteers, and the finish line at the Canon City Royal Gorge Rumble.
Race photography courtesy of the Colorado High School Cycling League; jump photo by Drew Cavin.
Community Value, Before and After Build-Out
The trail work that makes the Royal Gorge Rumble possible is part of the same 800-acre plan behind Royal Gorge Ranch & Resort's 152 home sites: recreation and open space woven through the community rather than fenced off from it. The Rumble is an early, measurable example of that plan already bringing riders, families, and spending into Canon City, years before the community is built out.
As the Ranch's home sites are built and occupied, that same pattern, low-density residential living centered on shared trails and open space, is designed to keep contributing to the local economy well beyond one race weekend a year.
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