Mancos Canyon

Ruins in Lion Canyon

Last week, I was a chaperon on a three-day camping trip with 85 8th graders from Escalante Middle School.  And yes, I actually volunteered for this trip! Why, you may ask??? Because it was an opportunity to camp and hike in an area that is not open to the general public - the Ute Mountain Tribal Park. Plus, my son was one of the 8th graders. We got to camp and hike in Mancos Canyon, which is located south of Mesa Verde National Park and on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation.  

To camp and hike in Mancos Canyon, you must have permission and get a permit from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and have a tribal guide with you on any hikes.  If you are caught without permission, a permit or a guide, you will be arrested by Tribal Police and end up in Tribal Jail, where you will be subject to prosecution under Tribal Law by Tribal Courts - essentially the same thing as being arrested in a foreign country.  In other words, be smart and don't go on Ute Tribal Land (or any other reservation land) without permission.

More ruins in Lion Canyon

Directions: From Historic Downtown Durango (Main Ave. & College Ave.), travel west on College for two blocks to the intersection with Camino Del Rio, turn left heading south for one block and veer right onto US Highway 160 going across the bridge over the Animas River.  You stay on US 160 and travel through Hesperus, Mancos and Cortez, CO.  On the west side of Cortez, US 160 combines with US Highway 491 and heads south out of Cortez.  You are getting close when you pass the Ute Mountain Casino.  The entrance to Mancos Canyon is the dirt road (Mancos Canyon Road) on the left (east side) of the intersection where 160 and 491 separate. US 160 goes on to the Four Corners National Monument and 491 (former Route 666 fka "Devil's Highway") heads into Shiprock, NM.

Vulture riding the thermals above Lion Canyon

On the first day of the trip, we hiked into Lion Canyon, including climbing down a number of steep ladders, and were able to get up close with a number of Ancestral Puebloan ruins along with petrogylphs and other rock engravings, including one by Richard Wetherill who discovered these ruins and the ones in Mesa Verde. The end of the hike included a climb up a 30-foot ladder into a ruin called Eagle's Nest, because an eagle had built a nest on a rock outcrop just above the ruins.

The next day was spent traveling up and down Mancos Canyon Road doing short hikes to observe petroglyphs and unexcavated and undisturbed kivas.  

Eagle's Nest

Some of the petroglyphs depicted the Ancestral Puebloan creation and emergence stories. In most of these areas, we could walk around and pick up pottery shards that date back to between 1 - 6 A.D. I even found an ancient cutting tool and another person found ancient beads. While you can pick up and enjoy these items, you are not allowed to take them with you.  The Ute guides we had on both days were wonderful, friendly and very knowledgeable about the ruins as well as local flora used for various medicinal purposes. 

We also saw numerous types

Petroglyphs in Mancos Canyon

of lizards, wild horses and rattle snakes.  This trip helped me to truly appreciate the ancient history of southwest Colorado coming to understand that this area has been inhabited for more than 2000 years.

Lizard in Lion Canyon

View of Mancos Canyon

One of our Ute guides performing a blessing.

Goulding Creek Trail

Looking for a hike that offers seclusion and beautiful high-alpine meadows? Are you willing to work hard for those rewards? If so, the Goulding Creek Trail is for you. Located just off Highway 550, north of Durango, it is easy to get to but seldom crowded.

Directions: From Historic Downtown Durango, head north on Main Ave., which will turn into Highway 550 as you head north out of town an up the Animas Valley. Travel approximately 16 miles and keep an eye out for the entrance to the Glacier Club (a private club and golf course), which will be on the right (east) side of of 550. The Glacier Club entrance is also Tamarron Drive. Just over a mile from the Glacier Club entrance, be on the look out for a small, dirt road on the left (west) side of 550. It is very easy to miss! I did and had to do a U-turn.  After you turn on this dirt road, you will see a small wood sign for Goulding Trail.  You will shortly come to a "T" in the road.  Take a left and head downhill to the parking lot, where you will find the trailhead.

Climbing the switch backs.

Trail: The trail starts out nice and easy first heading west and then curves around to the south for about a 1/4 of a mile. The trail then turns back west and the climb begins. Be warned, the next mile to mile and a half will get your heart beating.  You will climb approximately 1400 vertical feet through what seems like an endless stream of switchbacks. I didn't count but I would guess there are around thirty switchbacks that climb at a pretty steep rate. This trail is not for the faint of heart.

Waterfall along Goulding Creek.

As you climb, you will receive wonderful views of the Animas Valley and the Hermosa Cliffs, which you are climbing in between. After a mile of climbing through a pine and aspen forest, you will come into a more open area signalling that you are coming close to the end of the switchbacks. You will also begin to hear Goulding Creek off to your left. When I hiked the trail at the end of May, there was plenty of water flowing in the creek and numerous waterfalls to enjoy, if you are brave enough to climb down the steep slopes to see them.

You will climb through this open area to a green gate. Congrats, the switchbacks are over!! Unhook the chain around the uphill side of the gate, go through and re-hook the gate. The trail now levels off and meanders through pine and aspen groves as well as beautiful high alpine meadows.

High alpine meadow.

The trail continues for about another two miles where it intersects with the Pinkerton-Flagstaff trail, which runs north-south. Just before the this intersection, you will come across a log cabin and a horse corral. This is a nice place to stop and have lunch, which is exactly what I did before heading back down to the trailhead parking lot. My mileage for this out and back hike was just over six miles and it took me about a 3.5 hours, but I took a couple of detours to photograph a few waterfalls. I came across very few people while hiking and most of the time it was just me, the wind through the trees and the call of birds through the trees. Do be prepared for any kind of weather. It snowed on me off and on during my hike, and during the summer, pop up thunderstorms are the norm.

Cabin and horse corral.

Elevation Profile.

Route Map.

Vallecito Creek Trail

The Vallecito Creek Trail is a popular hiking trail to access the Weminuche Wilderness Area, which is the largest wilderness area in all of Colorado, encompassing some 499,771 acres in the San Juan Mountains north of Durango and Pagosa Springs, CO.  The trailhead is located north of Vallecito Reservoir and is an easy, scenic drive from downtown Durango.

Vallecito Creek

Directions: From Historic Downtown Durango, head north on Main Ave. to the traffic light at 32nd Street and turn right (east).  You'll drive about a mile and a half and then take a right (south) onto County Road (CR) 250. Drive just 0.2 miles to a traffic light and turn left (east) onto Florida Road (CR 240).  Drive about 12 miles to Helen's Corner and follow CR 240 to the right over the bridge over the Florida River.  Once you cross the bridge, CR 240 comes to a "T" at CR 501 after a few miles, where you will turn left (north).  Drive about 10 miles on CR 501, which will take you along the west side of the Vallecito Reservoir and into the residential area north of the lake.  As soon as CR 501 curves to the right and begins heading east instead of north, CR 500 peels of to the left heading north.  Travel about another 2.5 miles on CR 500 and the trailhead parking lot will be on your left just before the entrance to Vallecito Campground.  The parking lot is quite large and can accommodate horse trailers.

Vallecito Creek Trailhead

The Trail: The Vallecito Creek Trail starts out nice and level as it meanders around the borders of the Vallecito Campground, with lots of rock formations for the kiddos to climb on, which my kids took full advantage of on multiple occasions.  Once it gets around the campground, the trail approaches Vallecito Creek, which you can easily see and access from the east side of the campground.

The trail then heads north, first crossing Falls Creek over a nice bridge, and enters into the Weminuche Wilderness Area.  Prior to crossing the Falls Creek bridge, there is a place to register.  While it is currently optional to register, if you are heading for a long hike into the Weminuche, you should definitely register as it aids in rescue efforts.  In 2014, the Forest Service will make registering to enter the Weminuche mandatory.

Rock formations along the trail by the campground.

The trail begins to climb up the Vallecito Creek valley with the creek on your right.  At points, you will be high above the creek, and others right along it.  There are three bridge crossings over Vallecito Creek as the trail heads north.  The first is about 3.2 miles from the trailhead and makes a good day hike.  The second bridge at 5.6 miles, making for a rigorous day hike for those so inclined but there are campsites between the first and second bridges that make for good overnight hikes.  The third bridge is at 7.1 miles and is a hanging bridge over Vallecito Creek . . . or I should say was a hanging bridge as it was washed out in 2004/2005 by an avalanche.  The Forest does not plan on replacing the bridge.  As a result, you'll have to ford the creek to regain access to the trail, which is quite difficult during spring run-off but easier into the summer months but still not for the faint of heart.

Trail climbing up the Vallecito Creek valley.

The trail continues all the way to the top of Hunchback Pass, a total of 19.5 miles, and intersects with a number of other trails that continue deeper into the Weminuche, including the Johnson Creek and Rock Creek trails.  The trailhead elevation starts at 7900' and climbs to 12,500' at Hunchback Pass.  I was with my family and so only hiked the first 2 miles or so, but as you can see (or read), you can make the Vallecito Creek Trail a day hike or a multi-day trip.

This little guy was giving me the look.

Rock vistas along the trail.

Pine squirrel keeping an eye on me.

Google Earth image of the start of the Vallecito Trail.