You are responsible to arrange your own transportation to and from the central meeting location. The driving time in the van from the central meeting location to the first nights base camp (Sunday night) varies from one hour to two and a half hours depending on which section. We will transport the entire group (who signed up for that week) to Sunday night’s base camp (trailhead where the We will pick you and your gear up on Sunday (prior to the first day of hiking) at one of the central locations as described below. The Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail follow the same path for approximately 200 miles.The trail was built and is currently maintained by the non-profit Colorado Trail Foundation and the United States Forest Service.The Colorado Trail was completed in 1987.While some (supported) trail runners manage to finish it in less than 0 days, most Thru-Hikers spend about 40 days on the trail. The time required for a Thru-Hiker to complete the Colorado Trail varies greatly. In addition, the east-to-west hike allows a thru-hiker to start will smaller elevation gains and build up to the more rugged terrain of the western portion of the trail in the San Juan Mountains. This choice of direction is preferred mainly because snow melts earlier in the year on the easter portion of the trail than on the higher western portion. The majority of 'thru-hikers' (those who hike the trail in one segment) hike from east to west. The practical season for the Colorado Trail is roughly June through early October.Ĭlick her to view the current weather conditions along the Colorado Trail Thru-Hiking Violent thunder and lightning storms may ravage the afternoon sky, then quickly give way to warm sunshine and cloudless skies.Īlthough this trail is never officially closed to hikers, in practive large parts of it are prohibitively difficult in the winter because of deep snow. Sunner days are warm with cool nights, but unpredictable mountain weather can threaten snow any month of the year. The western part of the trail has less human influence, greater vistas and a display of The western half of the Colorado Trail, between Monarch Pass and Durango, is generally considered more beautiful than the portion from Denver to Monarch Pass. Other sections appear much as they would have 500 years ago.

The trail passes through historic mining towns, along ancient Indian trails, and through a modern, world-class ski resort. Passes through forests, a good portion of it reaches above timberline, where trees are unable to grow and views are breathtaking. Wildlife abounds and wildflowers, in season, are abundant. The trail passes through what is considered to be some of the state's most beautiful country. Length of the trail will gain (and lose) nearly 75,000 vertical feet. Some estimate that those hardy souls hiking the entire Trail elevations range from a low of about 5,500 feet at the Denver end of the trail to a high of 13,334 feet on Coney Summit in the San Juan Mountains. Along the way, it passes through eight major mountain ranges, seven national Terminus, southwest of Denver, the trail winds its way for 483 miles through the state's most mountainous regions, to its final conclusion, a few miles north of Durango. The Colorado Trail is an established, marked, and (mostly) non-motorized trail open to hikers, horse riders, and bicyclists (aka mountain bikers, which are prohibited on the sections which pass through designated wilderness areas).

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