The Crags Trail

Please note: the road to trailhead may close seasonally, extending the length of the trail. Please research prior to your visit. Sometimes granite erodes horizontally into monumental slabs resembling stacks of gigantic red pancakes. Not too far away the same kind or rock erodes vertically into colossal collections of cusps, ready to take a bite out of any clouds that venture too close to the earth. A few miles south of Divide CO, this kind of rock formation is called "The Crags." The hike out to the granite dome (another kind of erosive pattern in this neck of the woods) from which you can view these stunning features is only two miles long. The trail is well marked (#664) and well travelled. In fact, this trek is so popular with area residents that the Forest Service just finished building a new trailhead parking area. Along the trail you'll pass through forests of enormous quaking aspen, and you'll trace the track of the beginnings of Four Mile Creek. At the end of the trail, you'll surmount a wind swept dome from which you can gaze at the Rampart Range, Ute Pass, and the whole of the Catamount Creeks drainage, including the blue reservoirs that capture and control their release. This is the perfect hike for newcomers to the Colorado Springs area, not too long and not too much altitude. You can make the four miles out and back in less than two hours, but only if you don't succumb to the temptation to remain on the top of the mountain gawking and the scenery and marveling at the brazen Whisky Jack Jays that populate the wind twisted Bristle Cone Pines.