Winter Trail Conditions

imported
#1

Anyone have info (or know where to find it) for current trail conditions, especially the sections closest to Denver? I’m section hiking the trail and hate the idea of waiting until June to get any mileage in, especially with so many beautiful days lately.

I was out at Waterton Canyon a week and a half ago, and while the snow was very minimal beyond the dam, the trail itself was a sheet of ice for as far as I could see. Any idea if this has cleared up at all with the recent spate of warm weather?

Rachel

#2

Rachel, CT winter conditions info is hard to come by. This forum plus the CTF Facebook page are some of the best possibilities.

Though of limited value, here’s another resource that shows CURRENT SNOWPACK at 10 weather station sites kind of close to The Colorado Trail:

http://www.coloradotrail.org/snowandweather.html

On Track

#3

Thanks On Track; I’ll check out the facebook page.

In case this helps anyone else - I walked the western half of Section 1 today, and the trail was very passable. From Bear Creek to the high point there are frequent snow and ice patches, but nothing to be concerned about. The final four miles to the North Platte trailhead are almost completely dry.

Rachel

#4

Rachel,

Segment 2 is similar to the last 4 miles of seg 1. Very open due to fires past. If you found seg 1 doable then seg 2 should be as well.

We did Segment 3 in the winter a couple of years ago. If the Wellington Lake road is open for your shuttle It should be doable in a weekend with snowshoes. The terrain is pretty forgiving.

Bill

Bill T