Not confirmed open on set dates: Out of season, from October until the snow clears (mid-June in an average year for this segment, a week or two earlier after a mild winter and later after a big one): snow can cover the trail and hide its line. The Colorado Trail Foundation suggests 1 July as the earliest start for a long hike. Source, read 27 September 2026
Official: 22.8 miles, 4,296 ft. At mile 6.6, the Avalanche Trailhead, Buena Vista is 9.5 miles east on Cottonwood Pass Road. Near the end the trail runs through Mount Princeton Hot Springs: store, lodging and mail drop.
Best season: July to September. The Colorado Trail Foundation says most of the trail is free of snow from early July into September, and suggests 1 July as the earliest start for a long hike: from Denver in June, expect snow by Georgia Pass and on the Tenmile Range, sometimes several feet deep. Its average melt-off dates run from early May for the first segments to early July for Segments 6 to 8, 15 and 22 to 28; after a mild winter a week or two earlier, after a big one later. Afternoon thunderstorms can happen daily in July and August. Before you go
Facts read from the operators' own pages and OpenStreetMap on 27 September 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Silver Creek Trailhead
Camping spot · 2,914 m
Season
2026 Approximate onlyCamping on the trail: most of it is free of snow from early July into September; a thru-hike should start no earlier than 1 July.coloradotrail.org, read 27 September 20262027 Approximate onlyCamping on the trail: most of it is free of snow from early July into September; a thru-hike should start no earlier than 1 July.coloradotrail.org, read 27 September 2026
Booking
No booking Dispersed camping: no booking and no permit for the trail itself; wilderness areas have free self-issue permits at the boundary.
Stage end · overnight
Chalk Creek Trailhead
Camping spot · 2,558 m
Season
2026 Approximate onlyCamping on the trail: most of it is free of snow from early July into September; a thru-hike should start no earlier than 1 July.coloradotrail.org, read 27 September 20262027 Approximate onlyCamping on the trail: most of it is free of snow from early July into September; a thru-hike should start no earlier than 1 July.coloradotrail.org, read 27 September 2026
Booking
No booking Dispersed camping: no booking and no permit for the trail itself; wilderness areas have free self-issue permits at the boundary.
What the operators say about this leg
Neither operator publishes a walking time for this exact leg. Our estimate for the stage is 10 h 13, computed from the mapped line and its climbing.
Make it your trip
Choose your camps
There are no huts: you carry a tent. The foundation says camping is allowed on most of the trail and most people camp near it on a flat spot used before, at least 100 ft from water; designated campsites are few. Not in Waterton Canyon, and not on private land near towns. The camps below are planning points on the line, not marked sites; at those inside a dry stretch, carry water for the night.
Waterton Canyon to Junction Creek
The whole trail southbound, as the foundation advises, in 36 days: it says most walkers take four to six weeks.
Loading the forecast for low point (2,505 m) and high point (3,615 m)…
Weather by month
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (2,505 m) and the highest point (3,615 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
Weather
Poor
Poor
Poor
Poor
Poor
Good
Good
Good
Mixed
Mixed
Poor
Poor
High point, day / night
-2°/-17°
-2°/-18°
1°/-15°
3°/-11°
9°/-6°
15°/0°
18°/3°
17°/2°
14°/-1°
8°/-6°
2°/-12°
-2°/-17°
Low point, day / night
4°/-13°
5°/-13°
8°/-9°
11°/-5°
17°/0°
24°/5°
27°/8°
25°/7°
22°/4°
16°/-2°
9°/-8°
4°/-13°
Rain, mm
44
43
42
38
34
26
50
51
38
31
36
48
Snow at high point
Likely
Likely
Likely
Likely
Likely
Frost
–
–
Possible
Possible
Likely
Likely
Daylight
9 h 44
10 h 44
11 h 53
13 h 10
14 h 15
14 h 52
14 h 39
13 h 44
12 h 30
11 h 15
10 h 06
9 h 29
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Prepare for the Colorado Trail
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Snow decides the start
Start a thru-hike no earlier than 1 July: the high passes of Segments 6 to 8 are passable about a week after the Fremont Pass SNOTEL station reads zero, and Segments 21 to 27 about two weeks after the Red Mountain Pass station does. Each segment here carries its average melt-off date as a notice until then, and from October.
Afternoon thunderstorms can happen daily in July and August, and lightning is a real danger high up: plan to be off high ridges and exposed ground by noon. A tent gives no protection from a strike. The plans here end days below about 11,300 ft where the trail allows.
Phone signal is spotty at best, worst in the remote stretches between Salida and Durango. The foundation suggests a satellite messenger such as an inReach or SPOT: two-way texting, and your position for rescuers.
Water is plentiful on most of the trail, but treat all of it: cattle and sheep graze along the way. Three stretches are dry: 14 miles from the South Platte River into Segment 3, 11 miles from Lost Creek to Cochetopa Creek (Segments 18 and 19), and up to 22 miles from Straight Creek to Taylor Lake (Segments 26 and 27).
Stage 1 fire restrictions are in force on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest until 14 November 2026 unless lifted earlier: no campfires outside developed sites. The Willow Fire closure takes in the eastern slope of Mount Massive (Segment 10) until 30 September 2026. Check the foundation's alerts and each national forest before you go.
Services within about a mile: Copper Mountain, Twin Lakes, Mount Princeton Hot Springs and Molas Lake. Further off: Bailey, Jefferson, Breckenridge and Frisco by the free Summit Stage bus, Leadville, Buena Vista, Salida, Creede, Lake City and Silverton. Segments 16, 19, 26 and 27 have no town nearby.
No permit is needed for the trail; wilderness areas have free self-issue permits at the boundary. Dogs are not allowed in Waterton Canyon and must be leashed in many areas, including the wilderness areas.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
The start: Waterton Canyon
No bus or light rail reaches the trailhead at 11300 Waterton Road, Littleton; the nearest light rail stop, Mineral, is about 10 miles away, and there is no overnight parking. Come by ride or shuttle: the foundation keeps a list of shuttlers.
The free Summit Stage bus stops at Revett Drive, 0.3 mile from the Gold Hill Trailhead, and at the Copper Mountain entrance, 0.8 mile from the trail; its summer 2026 schedule runs from 19 April to 14 November.
Bustang's Outrider bus from Denver to Crested Butte stops at Fairplay, Buena Vista and Salida; its Monarch Mountain stop runs only from December to April. From the trail, Buena Vista is 9.5 miles from the Avalanche Trailhead and Salida about 15 miles from US 50.
Junction Creek Trailhead is about 3.5 miles from Main Avenue in Durango, which has a downtown trolley; long-term parking at the trailhead is not advised. Many thru-walkers leave a car in Durango and ride to the start.
Prepare every segment while you have a connection, and test it offline before you set out: the foundation says cell service is spotty, worst between Salida and Durango.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Open this trail in the app.Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
About this map
The Colorado Trail Foundation gives 486 miles (782 km) from Waterton Canyon to Junction Creek by Collegiate East, in 28 segments whose climbs add up to about 89,000 ft, and advises walking it southbound. The line here is the trail on OpenStreetMap, three relations joined end to end (planet of 28 September 2026), 768 km, cut where the official segments end; at the head of Elk Creek below Stony Pass, where the relation leaves the trail, it follows the foundation's line, matched onto OpenStreetMap; each segment page gives the official length beside the mapped one. Collegiate West, the higher 83-mile alternative through the Collegiate Peaks between Twin Lakes and the Monarch Crest, is not on this map. The climb shown here is measured on terrain heights and reads lower than the official figures.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 27 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.