From the trail head at Waterton Canyon located in the southwest suburbs of Denver at an elevation of 5,500 feet, the trail meanders 480 miles in a southwest direction to the outskirts of Durango, Colorado, with an elevation of 6,960 feet. The average trail elevation approaches 10,600 feet with the high trail point of Coney Summit at 13,334 feet.

The high elevation of the trail dictates a start well into July if one desires to hike free of snow. Hiking Denver to Durango buys some extra snow free time as the lower elevation commences with this direction.

This trail can be considered "the darling" of Colorado with a history of cooperative effort between the Forest Service and the volunteer Colorado Trail Foundation. The high point of accomplishment was the trail completion in September of 1987. With some 1,300 persons on the mailing list, the Colorado Trail Foundation is an active organization. Trail work parties are organized for summer work, drawing willing workers from throughout the United States. The Foundation maintains an office at 548 Pine Song Trail, Golden, Colorado 80401. From here one can purchase the official trail guide book, receive current trail condition reports, and arrange for transportation, at a reasonable fee, from the Denver airport to the trailhead.

For a better understanding of the trail I will briefly describe it in four sections. Section number one being the trail segment of 115 miles from Denver to Copper Mountain near the trendy vacation meccas of Breckenridge and Vail, Colorado.

It is important to understand that the Colorado Trail is for bicycle travel as well as for hikers and equestrians. While the trail touches six wilderness areas, and some sections are excessively rough for bicycles, the mountain bikers may show up where you would least expect them. Because greater Denver has a population approaching 2,000,000 of a younger age class and a short weather window of time for summer activities, the Denver mountain bikers really use this initial section of the trail. I found the bikers very skillful and courteous along this section of trail. That said, I am admittedly biased in my desire to hike on trails, such as the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trail, where wheeled vehicles are prohibited. In comparison to other trails throughout the United States, this section would rate high in respect to scenery, history and hiking effort. However, it is a section I would not wish to repeat because of the heavy mountain bike use.

Trail section number two is the 148 miles from Copper Mountain to the vicinity of Monarch Pass and Highway 50. Some 39 percent of the Colorado Trail shares the same tread as covered by the Continental Divide Trail. My spirits were high leaving Copper Mountain as I was now on familiar Continental Divide Trail; in addition, long time hiking friends Joris Naiman and Lesya Strutz joined me on this trek to Monarch Pass.

After the first 79 miles of this section, the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail part for the next 69 miles to rejoin in the vicinity of Monarch Pass. The Continental Divide Trail goes high through the Collegiate Wilderness Area and follows the divide down to Monarch Pass while the Colorado Trail takes a lower route that brings the trail closer to trail towns of Buena Vista and Salilda on Highway 24. My preference of routes in this section is the Continental Divide Trail because of its closer proximity to the divide.

Trail section number three is the 145 miles from six miles south of Monarch Pass to the vicinity of the town of Silverton which is just off the divide on Highway 550. Both the Continental Divide and Colorado trails share this route which follows along the Continental Divide with many miles of spectacular open divide hiking.

After resupplying at Silverton, section four of the trail leaves the Continental Divide and heads southwest toward Durango for the final 73 trail miles. For one familiar with the Continental Divide Trail, it is a hard decision to leave the divide at this point, for the next 84 miles along the divide, through the Weminuche Wilderness, down to Wolf Creek Pass with access to Pagosa Springs is a superb mixture of open divide hiking and the crossing of watersheds between breaks in the divide. Rick Bombaci of Enterprise, Oregon, who supplied me with trail town information following his 1998 Colorado Trail hike, opted to stay on the divide down to Wolf Creek Pass. I did stay with the Colorado Trail and the last 73 miles was both challenging and rewarding. While there was a 4,000 feet elevation drop between Silverton and Durango, it came in the last 20 miles. This meant that most of the section was at high elevation with a change in plant life and rock composition more in keeping with northern New Mexico.

Durango is an excellent town because of the wide variety in trail amenities as well as bus transportation to the Albuquerque airport.

To answer my question-Should you hike the Colorado Trail?-if you wish to add another long distance trail to your accomplishments, this one is accessible, well marked, and fits a completion period within reach of most people who may have part of the summer off work. However, if the time you may spend hiking in Colorado is hard to foresee or come by, I would suggest that you talk with Continental Divide hikers who have hiked Colorado as there are sections of the Continental Divide Trail far more spectacular and challenging for the same mileage. For example, the Continental Divide Trail from Grand Lake to Wolf Creek Pass is approximately 456 miles. Overall this distance is backpacking at its finest with enough towns within reach to keep you happy.