One-way Distance: 1.1 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 6012 - 6855 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 1 hr. (hiking)
Trailhead: Jumbo Mountain
Fee: none
Attractions: Fun lower, extreme upper
Rock-N-Roll is one of the trails in the Jumbo Mountain Trails System in Paonia, Colorado. The lower end of the trail begins off of Plumbers Crack where it makes a moderate climb for just over a quarter mile before crossing the Wapity Whip trail. From there the trail continues all the way up to Jumbo Ridge. The upper portion of the trail was originally built as a somewhat extreme downhill mountain bike trail but at present it gets very little use. The lower part of the trail on the other hand is one of the most enjoyed routes in the system and gets used on a regular basis.
To get to the trailhead head east on 3rd Street in Paonia and turn left onto Rio Grande Avenue. Follow Rio Grande as it crosses the creek and turns into Pan American Avenue and begins climbing the hill. The trailhead is at the end of Pan American Avenue. There is only room for a handful of vehicles to park at the trailhead but there is additional parking at the bottom of the hill at the Apple Valley Park where there is also a restroom.
The Rock-N-Roll trail begins at the 8 tenths of a mile point of the Plumbers Crack trail where it branches off to the left.
The trail starts out a little steep for the first couple hundred yards but then moderates quite a bit.
By the time it has gone a quarter mile it gets out of the junipers and comes out into the open.
At the 0.3 mile point it meets up with the Wapity Whip trail and shares routes with it as it crosses a wash with a bridge in it.
After coming out of the wash the Rock-N-Roll trail branches off to the left. If you weren't looking for the spot where the 2 trails split you probably wouldn't notice it. Actually, you might not notice it even if you are looking for it because at present it is nothing but a crease in the ground. If you follow it for a little bit you will come to a cairn.
As the upper part of the trail continues it crosses a deep V shaped wash where at present the bridge is missing. You can see the flat spots on each side of the wash where the bridge once sat but alas it is gone. If someone was high balling it down the trail on a mountain bike it would be most unfortunate.
The trail is faint but still easy enough to follow as it continues up the mountain.
The higher up on the mountain you get the more places there are where the trail is well defined.
The trail gets quite a bit steeper near the top but it is nowhere near as radical as its neighbor the Shitake Ridge trail.
