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.

Colorado Trail to Gudy's Rest

Colorado Trail Info Sign

This is a very popular trail with hikers, trail runners and mountain bikers because it is located very close to Durango but offers easy to moderate terrain along Junction Creek and wonderful views from Gudy's Rest.  Gudy's Rest is named for Gudy Gaskill, the "Mother of the Colorado Trail."  If you are looking for solitude on a hike, this is not the trail for you.

Lower Trailhead Parking Lot

Directions: From Historic Downtown Durango, head north on Main Ave to the intersection with 25th Street. Turn left at the light (heading west) and 25th Street turns into Junction Creek Road as it twists around Miller Middle School.

After approximately 3 miles, you will come to a fork in the road. Turning right takes you along Falls Creek Road, and going straight heads to the Colorado Trail.  You will see a sign at the intersection indicating which way to go for the Colorado Trail.  About a half mile from the intersection, the trailhead for the Colorado Trail will be on your left. There is a good sized parking lot along with decent pit toilets.  There is another trailhead about another mile up the road by the Junction Creek Campground, but the parking lot is much smaller.

The Trail: The trail stars out quite flat and begins a gradual climb along Junction Creek.  The trail is very wide but very rocky since it is in the flood plain for Junction Creek.  You will cross over a small footbridge where the trail heads left and continues along Junction Creek.

The trail is still pretty wide and the terrain becomes more rolling, but nothing strenuous.  In fact, for the first mile or so, the elevation gain is only around 200'.

Junction Creek alongside the trail.

After about a mile, you will come to the intersection with the upper trailhead and the trail begins to diverge to the left and upslope from Junction Creek.  The terrain becomes a bit more challenging and begins to climb up the Junction Creek valley.  The trail also meanders through some picturesque ponderosa pine stands that offer some very nice shade.

Once I passed the upper trailhead, I started to encounter a number of mountain bikers, so it is best to have your ears open.  If they are heading downhill, they are moving at a very good clip and I find it easiest just to move out of the way, which they appreciate and always say "thanks."

Bridge over Junction Creek.

About a mile past the upper trailhead, you will come to a wooden bridge over Junction Creek.
This is a great place to stop and rest a bit because after you cross over the bridge, the easy part is over as you will enter switchback central.

The climb from the bridge to Gudy's Rest contains six switch backs, gains approximately 600' in elevation, and covers approximately 1.3 miles.  Nothing too technical but definitely a good aerobic workout.  The views from Gudy's Rest are wonderful and you can see Fort Lewis College up on the mesa above Durango as well as Perrin's Peak.

View from Gudy's Rest. Perrin's Peak is on the right.

The Colorado Trail continues on from here all the way to the top of Kennebec Pass, on to Molas Pass, and all the way to Denver if you are so inclined.  My hike (actually, trail run) ended at Gudy's Rest.

My total time for this route was just under two hours and a distance of 7.85 miles.  I was running the route, so I would recommend giving yourself 3.5 hours for a hike from the lower trailhead, and about 2.5 hours from the upper trailhead.

Starting elevation was 6988' and the elevation at Gudy's Rest is 8022' giving you just over a 1000' in elevation gain for the hike.  Below is an elevation profile (out and back) of this route and a terrain map.  

Elevation Profile.

Terrain Map