The Colorado Trail

Over 500 miles long, the Colorado Trail traverses eight mountain ranges, seven national forests, six wilderness areas, and five major river systems.  Maintained by the non-profit Colorado Trail Foundation in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, the Colorado Trail is great to get out and see what makes Colorado so spectacular.  Don’t worry about hiking from start to finish on a marathon endurance hike.  The Colorado Trail is broken into 28 separate segments averaging about 17 miles each.  Some of the segments can be negotiated in a day; others will take many days needing provisions and outdoor gear for the duration of the segment.  Many sections of the Colorado Trail are not just for hiking.  There are sections that you can ride your bike or ride your horse also.  The creators of the trail wanted to make sure that everyone could enjoy it.

            Conceived by the U.S Forest Service in 1973, the Colorado Trail was to fill a void for the growing number of families and individuals who wanted to be able to go hiking in Colorado without the extremes of wilderness hiking.  Since the Forest Service didn’t have the necessary funds to build the trail alone, the Colorado mountain Trails Foundation was created to help raise money for the project.  It was agreed that joint construction, maintenance, and management of the trail would be split between the two organizations.  Progress on the trail moved very slowly until the early 80’s when the Colorado Mountain Club decided to make the Colorado Trail a priority.  That, and then Governor Lamm’s support in 1986 kicked started the project into high gear.  That same year, the Colorado Trail Foundation was formed and took over from the overstretched CMC.  The Colorado Trail reached its completion mark in 2004 yet continued maintenance and improvement continues each summer. 

Much of the trail is above timberline as it crosses the continental divide six times.  West of Kenosha Pass should only be attempted after June 20^th when the high mountain snow has had plenty of time to melt.  Even before June, there are plenty of hiking opportunities to hike along the Colorado Trail.  If you’re looking for a great hike that will take you into the heart of Colorado, check out the Colorado Trail.  There are plenty of entry and exit points that will give you and future generations a chance to see “untamed” wilderness.

If you are interested in more information about the Colorado Trail or are interested in volunteering to work on the trail, go to their website for all your Colorado Trail information. 

http://www.coloradotrail.org/