Hermosa Creek Trail - North Trailhead

The North Trailhead

The Hermosa Creek Trail is a very popular trail with hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers.  The trail travels through the midst of a vast roadless area with many side trails to enjoy. To truly explore the entire area would take days, possibly weeks.  Both the north and south trailheads are easy to access, with the south trailhead just a few miles north of Durango, and the north trailhead just to the west of Durango Mountain Resort.  This post is about an out and back trail run from the north trailhead.

Directions: From Durango, head north approximately 30 miles on Highway 550 to Durango Mountain Resort (fka Purgatory). Turn left into the Resort entrance and follow the main road looking for the signs pointing to Hermosa Park Road, which will be on your right.  Follow Hermosa Park Road, which quickly turns into a dirt road and begins to climb.  The road is well maintained and easily traveled by the average passenger car. The road is also known as Forest Service Road 578 and it will fork once or twice prior to descending into the Harris Ranch area. Keep following the signs to Sig Creek Campground and Upper Hermosa Creek Campground and you will head in the right direction.

Trail descending towards Hermosa Creek.

 After about 4.5 miles heading mostly due west, you will see the Upper Hermosa Creek Campground and the north trailhead for the Hermosa Creek Trail on your left. Turn left, drive through the creek and park in the large parking lot. There are vault toilets located next to the parking lot.

The Trail:  It starts out as a nice double track that climbs for a short while through large stands of pine trees, then begins to descend and runs right along Hermosa Creek. Soon you will have cliffs on both sides of as you descend into the Hermosa Creek drainage. Multiple times you will have to cross smaller creeks flowing into Hermosa, but none are difficult to get across. The entire time we were running the trail, marmots were serenading us with their whistling sounds at every turn.

The trail does get rocky at times but overall is not too difficult as it generally rolls uphill and downhill with the terrain as it runs along the creek. At about the 5 mile mark, the trail crosses over a well-built foot bridge.  If you are doing a day hike, there is a nice open meadow just across the cross the bridge that makes for a great place to stop for lunch, and then head back to where you began. Just remember, the way back is upstream and, as a result, generally uphill.

Bridge over Hermosa Creek.

If you are seeking a rigorous day hike, or an overnight backpacking trip, you can hike the entire Hermosa Creek trail from the north trailhead to the south trailhead - a distance of approximately 20 miles. You can drop a car off at the south trailhead and then have someone drive you to the north trailhead. There are several nice campsites along the trail plus many side trails to explore. Hermosa Creek and many of the creeks that flow into it are known as good trout streams, so bring your pole and try your luck.

Hermosa Creek.

Terrain map.

Cascade Creek Trail

View of Cascade Creek from the trail.

Cascade Creek is one of my favorite hikes so far in the San Juans. It is easy to get to, offers beautiful scenery but with gently rolling terrain that makes it accessible to hikers of all abilities.  While I was hiking the trail, I felt like I was in Oregon hiking the coastal range because of how lush and green the vegetation was along the trail, with a copious amount of wildflowers and towering pine trees.

Flume from the old Yeager Lumber Mill.

Directions: To get to Cascade Creek, head north out of downtown Durango on Main Ave., which then becomes Highway 550. Stay on 550 for approximately 30 miles where you will pass the entrance to Durango Mountain Resort. From here travel, about 2.3 miles. Just after passing Cascade Village, which will be on your left, 550 will make a tight, hairpin turn to the right.

About 3/4 way through this turn, the guardrail will end and there is a dirt road on your left.

Hiking through a meadow.

Turn onto this dirt road, which provides access to Cascade Creek. The road is fairly smooth smooth and easily traveled by any car.  After about a 3/4 of a mile, you will come across a parking lot on your left. It is right before a bridge, which goes over a flume from an abandoned lumber mill. Unless you have a capable 4WD or AWD vehicle, park here as the road gets very rough. If you do, you can drive another mile to the trailhead, where there is additional parking. You are at the trailhead when you reach a metal gate blocking the road.

Hiking through the pines.

The Trail: Pass through the gate and travel up the road a few hundred feet, the trail then peels off to the left through a small meadow crossing a shallow rocky stream.  In about a 1/4 of a mile, the trail splits. If you head to the right - the heavier traveled trail, you will hike along the eastern side of Cascade Creek. I recommend taking the road less traveled, and head left and then take another sharp left after a few yards. This will bring you to the banks of Cascade Creek. Change into your water shoes (or go barefoot) and ford the stream.

Cascade Creek.

When you cross over, head to the right and upstream. The trail stays mostly in eye-shot but always in earshot of Cascade Creek. You will hike through towering pine trees interspersed with high mountain meadows. The trail does have a few climbs but nothing too difficult or strenuous. You will cross a number of streams. After about 3.5 miles from the trailhead, you will cross Graysill Creek. The trail then begins to climb. About half way up this climb, look for a small trail that goes off to the right.

Beautiful waterfall on Cascade Creek.

Following this trail will take you to an overlook for a beautiful waterfall on Cascade Creek. Head back the trail and continue on a bit longer to where the trail splits again. To the left is the Graysill trail, which climbs the ridge to the west and joins the Colorado Trail. The Cascade Creek trail veers to the right and heads down to another crossing of Cascade Creek. This is where I turned around and headed back.

If you cross the creek,
the trail heads north into the headwaters of Cascade Creek passing a number of waterfalls before it ends at the Colorado Trail. My out and back hike took about 3 hours and the total distance was just under 9 miles.

Looking north towards the headwaters of Cascade Creek.

Map of hike.

Elevation profile.

Camping in Upper Hermosa Creek

Our campsite.

Every year I force my family to go camping with me for Father's Day weekend.  This year we went camping in the Upper Hermosa Creek area, which is an easily accessible area to camp with a back-country feel.  However, it is a very popular camping area and not a place to go if you are seeking seclusion.  We had two other families nearby and we were pretty far up the valley.

Harris Ranch area.

Directions: From Durango, head north approximately 30 miles on Highway 550 to Durango Mountain Resort (fka Purgatory). Turn left into the Resort entrance and follow the main road looking for the signs pointing to Hermosa Park Road, which will be on your right.  Follow Hermosa Park Road, which quickly turns into a dirt road and begins to climb.  The road is well maintained and easily traveled by the average passenger car.  The road is also known as Forest Service Road 578 and it will fork once or twice prior to descending into the Harris Ranch area.

Playing in the creek.

Keep following the signs to Sig Creek Campground and Upper Hermosa Creek Campground and you will head in the right direction.  After about 4.5 miles heading mostly due west, you will pass the Upper Hermosa Creek Campground and the upper trailhead for the Hermosa Creek Trail, which enters one of the largest unprotected roadless areas in Colorado. The road will curve and begin heading north along the Upper Hermosa Creek.  Soon you will come across numerous pull-outs along the creek that make for great camping sites.  We drove another 2 3/4 miles up the road and found a more isolated spot right on the creek.  Fair warning, once you pass the intersection of Forest Road 578 and 550, the road becomes substantially rougher and is only suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Old cabin at the Graysill Mine.

Pick a spot along the road and have a great time camping.  Our site had ample shade due to numerous large pine trees and had the sounds of a babbling brook just a stone's throw from our tent.  There are no services up here and as a result, you will need to bring in your own water.  Please make sure to pack out your trash.  My kids had a great time exploring the creek and throwing rocks in the water.

Bugs were not a major problem but the mosquitoes can be sneaky. Definitely bring repellent but the mosquitoes were not swarming when we were there.  At night, the stars were spectacular and we saw several satellites travel across the night sky.

High alpine lake near Bolam Pass.

The next day, we drove up Forest Road 587 to Bolam Pass, where the Graysill Mine was located. Some of the uranium from this mine was used in the first atomic bombs built by the United States.  There are still remnants of the mine camp standing, including one intact cabin.

As you continue on the road, you will pass two beautiful high alpine lakes and climb to the top of Bolam Pass, which offers beautiful views of Lizard Head, Mount Wilson and the Tin Basin.

We stopped for lunch and enjoyed watching the ground squirrels and pika scrambling through the boulder field below the road.

Mt. Wilson and Lizard Head from Bolam Pass through a passing rain storm.

Ground squirrel.

Pika!

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.

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