Colorado Trail Segment 6 (Kenosha Pass)

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With the end of the season rapidly approaching and my wanderlust barely satisfied, I started looking to areas of the mountains that I hadn't visited yet. My original plan on this particular weekend was to head up to the Lost Creek Wilderness Area, out along US 285 (Hampden Ave in Denver). I'm not sure how I've managed to miss the 285 corridor all together in the past. This is a beautiful and much less congested area of the mountains than the areas accessed via I-70. The drive up to Kenosha Pass takes you through several small towns and hamlets such as Conifer and Bailey. My intention was to enter Lost Park from the west, but as I went over Kenosha Pass, I realized that weather was already starting to roll in. Since I still had a hefty drive ahead to reach my intended destination, I decided to head back to the trailhead I saw at the top of the pass. Although I didn't know it at the time, this was the beginning of Segment 6 of the Colorado Trail. The Colorado Trail runs for approximately five hundred miles from the southern suburbs of Denver (Chatfield Reservoir outside of Highlands Ranch) all the way to Durango in the southwestern corner of the state. The trail passes through some of the most impressive areas of the mountains and offers a great challenge to adventurers. Each segment has its own easily accessible trailhead, and I just happened to stumble upon one of them!

This hike turned out to be one of the highlights of the season for me, primarily because I did it during the height of the aspen leaf change. When people say that the hills look they are on fire during this time of year, it is no exaggeration. Everywhere you look, there are brilliant pockets of gold and orange contrasting sharply with the surrounding green. This hike was somewhat unique as it started at a higher elevation than the turn around point. Segment 6 actually travels all the way from Kenosha Pass to the outskirts of Breckenridge, a one way trip of 33 miles! With this in mind, I set out to do as much of the trail as I could. The trail climbs gently from parking area to the top of a ridge where you are treated to the first of several great views of the distant mountains of the Continental Divide. From the top of the ridge, the trail begins to descend into the amazing valley of South Park (yes, the THE South Park). Once it reaches the valley floor, the trail remains quite easy with virtually no elevation gain for quite some time. The approaching storm and dropping temperatures prompted me to turn back after about three and a half miles, but I could have easily continued under different conditions. This hike turned out to be an unexpected treat and I have every intention of getting back there soon!

To reach the trailhead, drive 58 miles west along US 285. The trailhead is near the summit on the right side as you head south. The Colorado Mountain Club has a very detailed book on the entire Colorado Trail if you are interested in more information.

Update (8/22/07): This week, I headed back to Segment 6 to get a different perspective on the trail and to try going a bit farther than I had on my first attempt. Not surprisingly, this trail is still quite beautiful during the summer months. While the aspens had not started turning yet, there was still a lot of unique color to be found in the late summer wild flowers along the trail. On this particular day, I made it to an old dirt road down in the valley (about 4.3 miles from the trailhead). My turn around point was very close to the large rocky hill that juts out from the valley floor (visible all along the trail). Unfortunately, the beauty of the hike was somewhat spoiled by a large pile of trash left behind by recent campers. This serves as a reminder to clean up any and all trash you may generate while hiking. As with my previous visit, I encountered threatening weather, but it fortunately didn't rain until I got back to my car.

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