Colorado · Long-distance trail

Colorado Trail

486 mi long · in Colorado · centroid 90 mi from Colorado Springs

The Colorado Trail runs 486 miles from Denver to Durango through Colorado's San Juan and Sawatch ranges, crossing eight mountain ranges, six wilderness areas, and six national forests. Built largely by volunteers between 1973 and 1987, it averages over 10,000 feet in elevation and includes substantial overlap with the Continental Divide Trail.

States
Colorado
Length
486 mi
Trail type
Long-distance trail
Network
Regional (rwn)
Centroid nearest city
Colorado Springs, CO · 90 mi · ~2.6 hr drive
Centroid coords
38.6024°, -106.4541°
Official site
coloradotrail.org
OSM relations
2 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap
From Wikipedia: The Colorado Trail is a long-distance trail running for 486 miles (782 km) from the mouth of Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver to Durango in Colorado, United States. Its highest point is 13,271 feet (4,045 m) above sea level, and most of the trail is above 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Despite its high elevation, the trail often dips below the alpine timberline to provide refuge from the exposed, storm-prone regions above. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Colorado Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Termini

Start & end

Eastern terminus: Denver, Colorado.

Western terminus: Durango, Colorado.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Colorado Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Colorado Springs, CO — 90 miles away (~2.6 hr drive). See accommodation in Colorado Springs on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

8 nearby

Colorado

Collegiate West

12 miles from this trail's centroid

Colorado

CDT in-xx Misc Old Route Alternates

14 miles from this trail's centroid

Colorado

Collegiate East

16 miles from this trail's centroid

Colorado · 96 mi

ADT - Colorado C - Q - Seg 5

36 miles from this trail's centroid

Colorado

Rainbow Trail

37 miles from this trail's centroid

Colorado

North Fork Cutoff Trail

47 miles from this trail's centroid

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.