Hiking the Colorado Trail 2025
The longest and challenging Colorado hiking adventure
Best time: early July–mid-September
Colorado is a hiker's paradise, and the Colorado Trail will let you enjoy all its beauty to the fullest. It is a long-distance trail stretching for 782 km (486 miles) from Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver to Durango. Most of the trail lies above 3,000 m or 10,000 feet. Hence the season for the Colorado Trail starts only in July (some parts of it are covered with snow till late June) and runs through September. Late September is likely to bring snowstorms. So the very best time to hike Colorado Trail is early July to mid-September.
The Colorado Trail goes through eight mountain ranges, six forests, and six wilderness areas. Its highest point is 4,045 m (13,271 ft) at Coney, San Juan Mountains. While on the trail you'll see plenty of wildlife and wildflowers, and of course the views are breathtaking. The western half of The Colorado Trail, between Monarch Pass and Durango, has probably the greatest vistas and wildflowers.
Most thru-hikers start the trail in July and complete it in 4-6 weeks moving from east to west since the eastern part warms up earlier. Mountain biking is permitted along most of the trail, except for six wilderness areas where it is banned.
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