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Compare trails

Which trail suits your trip? Pick a month for typical weather, or your own dates for the forecast, rated at each trail's lowest and highest point. The best match comes first; the table below has the details. For winter trips, start with hiking in Europe in winter.

Best in October

Good no real weather drawbackMixed walkable, with one drawbackPoor a serious drawback, or out of season
How the ratings work
Good
Typical weather suits walking: no snow expected at the high point, not hot low down or cold up high, and under 200 mm of rain in the month.
Mixed
One drawback in a typical year: snow or ice possible up high, a warm or cool month, or a wet one (200 mm or more).
Poor
Snow likely at the high point, heat of 33 °C or more low down, days below 3 °C up high, or outside the published season.

From typical weather: the 1991–2020 averages at the trail's lowest and highest point, corrected for height. A published season (a park that closes, huts that open) overrides the weather. A rating is a planning aid for the area, not a report of the trail: check the official warnings before you go.

  1. 1
    Colorado Trail United States
    Poor
    1. January: Poor
    2. February: Poor
    3. March: Poor
    4. April: Poor
    5. May: Poor
    6. June: Poor
    7. July: Mixed
    8. August: Good
    9. September: Mixed
    10. October: Poor
    11. November: Poor
    12. December: Poor

    Outside the published season. The Colorado Trail Foundation: most of the trail is free of snow from early July into September; start a thru-hike no earlier than 1 July and finish by late September. Snow lingers longest on the high San Juans and Collegiate West.

    • -7–20 °C(Typical: a night at the high point to a day at the low point)
    • 62 mm rain(Rain in a typical month, at the wetter end)
    • Snow possible(Snow at the high point (4,033 m))
    • 11 h 14(Daylight in the middle of the month)
    Open the guide

Side by side

Trail
Colorado Trail
United States
At a glance
Weather in October Poor Outside the published season. The Colorado Trail Foundation: most of the trail is free of snow from early July into September; start a thru-hike no earlier than 1 July and finish by late September. Snow lingers longest on the high San Juans and Collegiate West.
Typical weather
Temperature, lowest point 20° by day, 1° at night at 1,675 m
Temperature, highest point 8° by day, -7° at night at 4,033 m
Rain in a typical month 62 mm
Snow at the high point Snow possible High point 4,033 m
Daylight mid-month 11 h 14 Sunrise 07:09, sunset 18:23
The trail
Kind of trip Point to point in 28 stages
Length 768 km
Total climb +21,560 m
Highest point 4,033 m
Days to allow 32 walking, 20 fast Suggested for 36 days; shorter trips in the planner
Practical
Places to sleep 1 town or village Read 27 September 2026
Official status and season The Colorado Trail Foundation: most of the trail is free of snow from early July into September; start a thru-hike no earlier than 1 July and finish by late September. Snow lingers longest on the high San Juans and Collegiate West.
Rules and permits –
Getting there The start: Waterton Canyon; Breckenridge, Frisco and Copper Mountain; Buena Vista and Salida; The finish: Durango
Official weather warnings No European warning service linked
Sources Climate: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages; Forecast: Open-Meteo

Where they are

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Ratings are planning aids from typical weather or the forecast, not statements about trail conditions. Typical weather: TerraClimate 1991–2020 at each trail's lowest and highest point, corrected for height, with the Pico do Areeiro station on the Madeira peaks. Stays and status come from each guide's dated records.