Getting to Lake City CO?

imported
#1

Meeting my thru hiking daughter on 7/25 to complete the last bit of trail with her. Any ideas re: getting to Lake City from a local airport? Rental cars don’t seem to rent one way and it looks like Greyhound doesn’t go to LC either …

ed lorah

#2

There is an outdoor store in Creede. You might call them to see if they know anybody local who would be willing to shuttle you. It will be expensive as Creede and Lake City are a long way from Durango but they might have somebody available. Alternately, if you are planning to spend the night in Durango before heading home, you might call the motel owner to see if he/she knows any shuttle providers.

Ginny

#3

There’s no public transportation into or through either Lake city or Creede.

Gunnison has an airport, but it’s expensive flying from Denver (United and Continental are $513 one way; USAir is $958). Black Hills Stage Line runs buses between Denver and Gunnison via Salida.

Durango also has an airport. You can ride the Durango to Silverton Scenic Railroad for $85, but it’s still a long ways from Silverton (no public transportation) to Lake City.

San Juan Backcountry http://www.sanjuanbackcountry.com will do extensive shuttles all over the San Juan area. Advanced reservations suggested.

Ideally, someone living in Gunnison would agree to shuttle you to Lake City for a fee. Good luck with that one.

There are airports in both Gunnison and Durango, but it’s expensive (United and Continental are $513 one way from Denver to Gunnison; USAir is $958).

Black Hills Stage Line lines from the Denver Amtrak and Greyhound stations to Gunnison via Salida.

You can ride the Durango to Silverton scenic railroad for $85, but it’s still a long ways to Lake City.

Wandering Bob

#4

Grrrr. Trailforums.com desperately needs an EDIT function on its forums!

CLARIFICATION -

USAir is $958 (nine hundred and fifty eight dollars) one way. The number 8 followed by a close quotation mark also generates the unintended smiley.

Wandering Bob

#5

Here are some possibilities:

There is a regional airport in Alamosa with United and US Air. Alamosa Bus Company can probably set something up to take you to Creede. They advertise transportation to the Creede Repertoire Theater so maybe you could get some sort of group deal. Phone 719 1589-3384

Another possibility is to fly into Durango and take the narrow gauge railroad to Elk Park. You could meet your daughter there instead of Spring Creek Pass and hike the rest of the way to Durango. (78.3 miles)

Another option is to take the train to Silverton then book a Jeep tour to take you to Carson Saddle where Segment 23 begins. This is the next segment past Spring Creek, so you could meet up there on the evening of the 25th or the 26th. This would give you a hike total of about 109 miles to Durango. (I would recommend this option) One more possibility would be to book a Jeep ride to Stony Pass where Segment 24 begins. (94 miles to Durango) You could meet her there. This would probably be the least expensive of all these ideas - Stony is very close to Silverton. Try this Tour Company: Mild 2 Wild 800-567-6745.

bearcreek

#6

My dad is meeting me around the 26th where the train and CT intersect (elk creek stop). You miss the continental divide, but the last 70 miles of trail is very pretty. I hiked segments 27+28 last summer and it got me hooked to do the full thing this summer!

Andrew M

#7

Current price for a one way ticket on 7/25 from Denver to Durango on United is $202.

bearcreek

#8

I may be able to shuttle you from Denver to Lake City on those dates. I emailed a note to you about this possibility.

JDCool

#9

JD, don’t count on the email feature on this forum to work as intended, as some users have reported failure.

On Track

#10

Thanks for the “heads up” on the email problem, On Track. Ed, send me a note here and we will figure it out.

JDCool

#11

Just in case you want other options:

My wife and I will be doing segments 18-24. We might be able to arrange a drop at Molas Pass. We are going a week later and plan on starting July 31.

Bill T