Otto's Trail (Colorado National Monument)
in Colorado
Location: From Saddlehorn Visitor Center, turn left onto Rim Rock Drive and proceed 1.0 mile (1.6 km) to the trailhead on the left. Mileage: 0.5 one way (0.8 km) Difficulty Level: Easy Elevation: 5,800 to 5,600 feet (1768 to 1707 meters) Average time: 1/2 hour Usage: Hiking only. Horses prohibited.
Description: Gently sloping trail that leads through pinyon-juniper woodlands to an overlook with views of Sentinel Spire, Pipe Organ, Praying Hands, and Independence Monument.
- States
- Colorado
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid coords
- 39.0960°, -108.7327°
About Colorado National Monument
This trail is inside Colorado National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/otto-s-trail-colorado-national-monument.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm
Plan your hike
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 Otto's Trail (Colorado National Monument) and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
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Sources
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.