Colorado Trail
The Colorado Trail is a 567-mile long-distance trail between Denver and Durango that crosses eight mountain ranges, six national forests, and six wilderness areas. Elevations range from 5,500 to 13,27...
- Length
- 272.1 mi
- Thru-hike
- 28–42 days
- Elev. gain
- 89,000 ft
- States
- 1
About the route
The Colorado Trail is a 567-mile long-distance trail between Denver and Durango that crosses eight mountain ranges, six national forests, and six wilderness areas. Elevations range from 5,500 to 13,271 feet.
Termini
Terminus A
Waterton Canyon, southwest of Denver, CO
39.4914, -105.0947
Terminus B
Junction Creek Trailhead, near Durango, CO
37.3314, -107.9028
Verified waypoints
4 total · filter on the map aboveCategories you've hidden on the map are collapsed here too.
Route markers3
Waterton Canyon (Eastern Terminus) · Trailhead
Eastern trailhead southwest of Denver.
Source ↗adventures_seed
Junction Creek (Western Terminus) · Trailhead
Western trailhead near Durango, CO.
Source ↗adventures_seed
Collegiate Loop Split · Intersection
Where Collegiate East and Collegiate West routes diverge.
Source ↗adventures_seed
Views1
Coney Summit · Summit
Highest point on the Colorado Trail — 13,334 ft in the San Juans.
13,323 ftSource ↗adventures_seed
What we don't yet have
We deliberately do not display water sources, resupply towns, shuttle services, or trail-side businesses on this page. Those change every season and an out-of-date pin can be a safety issue, especially on the high-desert and alpine sections of long trails. Use the trail association's published guide, FarOut, or Guthook for that level of detail; verify with rangers before relying on any cached source.
Official sources
Last verified by us: 2026-05-16
Outdoors is not the permitting authority. Reconfirm alerts, permits, and closures with the agency before you go.
Best seasons
States traversed
Editor's note
567 mi reflects post-2012 Collegiate West expansion; classic Collegiate East is 486 mi.