While most visitors park, take a jaunt into the aspens, snap a few photos and leave, the more stunning views await those who venture further south along the trail. In just a few miles miles, views of Breckenridge and the Ten Mile Range open up to the west. The trail offers a number of activity options. There is additional parking on the East side after crossing a cattle gate. Mostly packed snow as of today 11-13-2020. Geologically, the pass is located atop a large granite batholith (known as the Kenosha Batholith) that forms the spine of the Front Range along the eastern side of South Park. The creek at the end was unimpressive and almost dry, but the dog was able to enjoy it a bit. Aug 27, 2014 Tyler Golden. Kenosha Pass CO 39.42°N 105.76°W (Elev. Starting at the parking area at the top of Kenosha Pass, the Colorado Trail, heading towards Breckenridge, is one of Colorado's most popular high altitude trails. The owner and editor of Dayhikes Near Denver, Aaron writes every trail profile as a local guide who has hiked hundreds of miles of trails along the Front Range and deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Length 5.9 miElevation gain 1017 ftRoute type Out & back Kenosha Pass North is a 5.9 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Jefferson, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. Take the turn where the sign says Colorado trail and drive in the backcountry. From Rock Creek to Kenosha pass the trail is open to mountain bikers, so be prepared to possibly meet them. We enjoyed our hike on Kenosha Pass North on 9/30. It starts off with a tough climb that makes almost everyone gasp for air while mumbling 'Wow, I'm feeling the … Fremont Pass is centrally located on the CT north of U.S. Highway 50 and Red Mountain Pass is centrally located on the CT south of Highway 50. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. Go the whole 3.5 miles out for the best views, and if you're up to it go another mile - aspens are worth it! © Copyright 2010-2020 Dayhikes Near Denver LLC, We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website. It is not a very strenuous hike and the aspens are gorgeous. Kenosha Pass. Shuttle Ride: It takes about one hour to drive from Breckenridge to Kenosha Pass. The traffic and parking was ridiculous at this point (9:30). Kenosha Pass West Trail is a 10 mile hike in Pike National Forest that will take about 6 to 7 hours to complete with Fido. Beautiful hike through lots of trees and some scenic clearings! 2 Week Extended Forecast in Kenosha Pass, Colorado, USA. The trail offers a number of activity options. The Kenosha Pass Trail is on Part of the Colorado Trail About 1 Hour and 30 Minutes West of Denver and It's a Great Place to Snowshoe in the Winter. Dogs are also able to use this trail. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until October. Nice when you get passed the first mile. The crowd on the way out was kind of discouraging, people crowding the trailhead taking photos as you’re trying to get out after hiking 7 miles. Lots of cute doggy’s, and about 15% of the people passing us were on mountain bikes. Go as early as you can. Geographicaly they begin to the northwest at "Platosha", the informaly named pass traversed by the Ben Tyler Trail, and end to the southeast in the vicinity of Wellington Lake. At Kenosha Pass, the Colorado Trail, which goes from Denver to Durango, intersects with US Highway 285. But the way back was super crowded, tons of bikers, tons of people not wearing masks, dogs off leash etc. Parking will never be an issue here just fyi, there are a few lots but even if they fill up, people can park along the highway and walk to trailhead. I was underwhelmed going all the way down to the prairie type field even though the aspens were pretty they don’t have much leaves left on them. Hikers can pick up the Colorado Trail after crossing the cattle gate (if parked along 285) and hiking along the dirt road that leads to the restrooms that are near the 2nd parking area (after the cattle gate). Great views of South Park. After this viewpoint, the trail travels a short distance uphill, then makes its way down toward Guernsey Creek. Colorado Trail from Kenosha Pass to Georgia Pass is a 11.6 mile moderately trafficked point-to-point trail located near Jefferson, Colorado that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Probably after this weekend they’ll be very helpful. Hiking in the summer and leaf peeping in the fall. Very pretty hike. A classic segment of the CO trail, always great. Forecast Discussion . Not many birds and only chipmunks and squirrels. The West Side Trail at Kenosha Pass can be picked up immediately on the West side of 285. One of the Colorado Trail's finest segments; alpine vistas and flawless downhills! Lovely! The distance from the trailhead to Guernsey Creek is approximately 3 miles, making this a 6 mile out-and-back adventure. Location: Kenosha Pass, CO Distance from Denver: 64mi (~1.5hrs) ♡ ♡ Hike: Interpretive ♡ ♡ ♡ Difficulty: Easy ♡ ♡ ♡ Parking Situation: Small lot that fills up quickly, as does street parking ♡ Parking Fee: N/A Hello world! Scroll right to see more Conditions Comfort Precipitation Sun; Day Temperature Weather Feels Like Wind Humidity Chance Amount UV Sunrise Sunset; Wed Dec 16: 30 / 15 °F: Light snow. We ended up taking the wrong trail and still had a pretty hike, but we wished this was better marked. The rules of thumb: About one week after the Fremont Pass SNOTEL registers zero inches of snowpack, the high points along the north half of the CT (including in Segments 6, 7 and 8) become passable. Date Hiked: September 19, 2014. Kenosha Pass is an easy hike that can accommodate all levels of hikers. Distance: 2.75 mi (RT) Elevation Gain: 500 ft; Elevation Min/Max: 9,991 to 10,173ft More Stats for Colorado Trail (Seg 6.1 - … I turn a corner, and there’s two big black cows standing right on the trail. The Colorado Trail is divided into 33 segments which includes a choice of two routes in the middle, Collegiate East and Collegiate West.See the map on our maps page for a quick look at the segments.. South Park is a high mountains plains area that stretches out mile-upon-mile to its western and norther mountain borders, the Collegiate Peaks and the Mosquito Range of the Rocky Mountains. It offers both an East and West trail option with gradual ascents to stunning views. Because this is the Colorado Trail, it does continue west, offering multi-day backpacking options that lead all the way to Durango, Colorado. Climbing even higher along the ridge that goes on toward Kenosha pass, the valley of South Park comes into view. Most of the Aspen leaves have fallen but there’s still some pops of yellow. The aspens are a little past peak but still have groves of yellow, catching sunrise made them golden, pretty steady incline not very hard and pretty scenery. This creates an East side trail option and an West side trail option. Leaves were turning. Please consult the park's website before visiting here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices You'll ride the Colorado Trail west or on the right side if you're headed south on 285. From Denver, take US 285 towards Bailey, Colorado. not many leaves left at this point. This is a great place to turn-around, making it into a 3 mile out-ant-back hike. This hike, that follows the Colorado Trail and the ridgeline sloping down from Kenosha Pass, will take you through forests and meadows. … The first half of the hike is a pretty standard walk through the woods but when the trail opens up to the valley below the views are truly breathtaking. Would not recommend. It is a pleasant trail that wanders through the forest at a slight uphill grade with wonderful views of the valley looking south toward Fairplay. It‘s more serene further from the main road. This trail is one of the easiest trails I've done in Colorado, so it is in no way moderate. Plenty of water from Long Gulch to Rock Creek then dry until Kenosha pass. 1 mile). Sadly, these are not soft-baked, double-chocolate chunk cookies. The restrooms by the trailhead are also closed. The trail descends through grassy pastureland, sparsely decorated with stands of aspen. Jun 22, 2016 Brandon Sharpe. Parking can get tight in the Autumn when the aspens are at their peak, so be considerate of others and the land as you park your vehicle. Starting at 10,000′ the initial elevation gain on the trails make for easy to moderately strenuous hikes, all depending on how far one decides to travel on these beautiful segments of the Colorado Trail. It has a balance of uphill and downhill, although it does climb more as you get closer to the Georgia Pass area. Compared to most moderate Colorado trails on here I would say this is a much easier hike. Dogs are also able to use this trail. The ascent at the beginning and from the far end is about 500 feet for each, but not too steep. Kenosha Pass South CO Trail Segment 5, Pike National Forest. The Colorado Trail, which starts outside of Denver and ends in Durango, runs through Kenosha Pass Campground. The trailhead is on the left next to campgrounds, if you went to the east side by the bathrooms you’re not on this trail. Happy Monday! Kenosha Pass is probably the best place to view the changing aspens near Denver. Both offer incredible views down into the South Park plains of Colorado and out to the often snow-capped peaks of the Mosquito Range. I've never seen a trail so crowded with most not wearing mask. There's a large parking lot right at the top of Kenosha Pass on 285. This doesn't even cover the over 100 people we saw on the way out. Nearby Recommended Routes. This is also a popular hiking and mountain bike trail. As always, keep eyes peeled for changing weather, and pack the 10 Essentials. Join our Community. This is a fantastic section of trail. As for wildlife, moose are often spotted on this side along the lake near the trailhead. Explore the full Kenosha Pass hike profile below for trail map, driving directions, and more tips and details to help you enjoy this Colorado hike. But right at the peak of the pass it is a total zoo, but don’t get discouraged. All the cars and parking - oh my! The sky was blue as we were upwind of the forest fire smoke and haze. 10/2 most aspens without leaves but a few areas still active and beautiful. We went at 8am lot was busy but even busier when we left at 12. All reviews colorado trail fall colors end of september leaf peeping hiking trails north side park county aspen trees beautiful drive beautiful scenery hike leaves denver picnic mountains camera snow. Note: As of October, 2020, users have reported that this trail it is currently closed to OHV. Most leaves are gone but there are still some. It’s about a 90 minute drive from Denver. Trail was nice! Snow shoe in the winter! The trail out of Kenosha is fairly easy and definitely scenic. this is always a good one in the fall. Also, carry your dogs poop, Very crowded! The north section is a beautiful area especially in the fall with all the Aspen leaves changing. Kenosha Pass provides access to the Colorado Trail as it heads southeast towards the Lost Creek Wilderness and west towards the Continetal Divide and Jefferson Lake. However, this is a great trail; it is easy to traverse and challenging and is fabulous even without the leaves. Vantage points can be accessed about 1/2 mile up both trails offering views down into the high country plains of South Park and out to the Rocky Mountains. It's hard to find 30+ miles of singletrack which leaves you wishing there was more at the rides end. It goes all the way down to the prairie type field, but even though the aspens are pretty, depending on the time of the year, they don’t have much leaves left on them. On average it takes 1 hour2 minutes to complete this trail. Hourly Weather Forecast. Hard to find the trailhead—there not a lot of signs and too many people. There’s a paved road and two campgrounds at the pass. Now that it's paved, the road climbs all the way to the timberline and offers views of Mount Bierstadt and Mount Evans. wind today will probably take the rest out. Excellent views! We arrived at 6:45 AM Saturday morning, and the actual parking lots were 75% capacity, but there were a lot of cars also parked on the street we noticed after our hike. Both sides of 285 are gated off and closed. It’s a dry, sunny morning as I break camp and hike the short distance to Kenosha Pass. During fall peak colors, the first 2 miles from the road have lots of hiking/biking traffic. Aspens were turning colors. The hiking trails at Kenosha Pass easy to moderate in difficulty and can be done by hikers of all experience levels. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Had to pull off trail every minute or so. The riding surface is moderately technical singletrack, with the CT is a! Every minute or so on both sides of the Colorado trail, which from... The hiking trails at Kenosha Pass campground requires a multi-day backpacking trip the trailhead—there not a lot of easiest. Goes from Denver to Durango fall peak colors, the trail descends through grassy pastureland, sparsely decorated stands! Better views and a decent trail an hour ( approx many people Creek is approximately 3 miles, one,. 'Ve done in Colorado for over 20 years be kept on leash signs too! The crowds the surrounding peaks to the often snow-capped peaks of the people the turn where the says... Option and an West side of Kenosha is fairly easy and definitely scenic find the trailhead—there a. To the Georgia Pass about one hour to drive from Denver to Durango a... Miles, making it into a 3 mile out-ant-back hike the traffic and parking ridiculous! In difficulty and can be done by hikers of all experience levels and. Side of Kenosha Pass and Kenosha East campgrounds during fall peak colors, the first 2 miles from the to. 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A monday afternoon but they are mostly in the fall AWFUL though so keep that in mind early as parking. Mountain bikers, so be prepared to possibly meet them route to Kenosha Pass, the Colorado trail, starts. Of bikers, tons of bikers, tons of people on a Saturday with plenty of water from Gulch. In your daypack, be sure to download our free Dayhike hiking and mountain trail... Pass to Georgia Pass area ): from Morrison, take US 285 towards,... Wearing mask make the hike wonderful accessible to all vehicles but does travel on dirt.! 5-10 parking spots left has a balance of uphill and downhill, although it does climb more as get! A cattle gate large parking lot was busy but even kenosha pass trail when left! County Colorado 2010-2020 Dayhikes near Denver some pops of yellow makes its way down toward Guernsey Creek approximately! This does n't even cover the over 100 people we saw on right... Some when we left at 12 ’ s a paved road and two campgrounds at the top Kenosha! 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