Colorado Trail
The Colorado Trail is a 486-mile long-distance trail between Denver and Durango (or 567 miles including the post-2012 Collegiate West alternate) that crosses eight mountain ranges, six national forest...
- Length
- 481 mi
- Thru-hike
- 28–42 days
- Elev. gain
- 89,000 ft
- States
- 1
About the route
The Colorado Trail is a 486-mile long-distance trail between Denver and Durango (or 567 miles including the post-2012 Collegiate West alternate) that crosses eight mountain ranges, six national forests, and six wilderness areas. Elevations range from 5,500 to 13,271 feet. Mileage per the Colorado Trail Foundation.
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 Those change every season and an out-of-date pin can be a safety issue, especially on the high-desert and alpine sections of long trails.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: 2026-05-22
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.