Colorado Trail
A 567-mile trail across the Colorado Rockies from the edge of Denver at Waterton Canyon to Durango, with an average elevation above 3,000 m.
At a glance
- Starts in
- Waterton Canyon trailhead
- Ends in
- Junction Creek trailhead, Durango
- Length
- 912 km
- On foot
- ≈ 36–46 days
- Countries
- United States
About the trail
The trail runs from Denver to Durango, crossing eight mountain ranges and six wilderness areas.
Its high point is above 4,000 m, and long stretches run above the tree line, where afternoon thunderstorms in summer push hikers to start early and get off the ridges by midday. In the middle the trail splits into the Collegiate East and the higher, more exposed Collegiate West, and for several hundred kilometres it shares its line with the Continental Divide Trail. Mountain bikes are allowed except in the wilderness areas.
Thru-hiking usually takes four to six weeks, and most people go in July and August, once the snow has melted from the high passes.
No source gives the days on foot, so they are worked out from the length at 20–25 km a day.