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COLORADO TRAIL
Denver to Durango

The Colorado Trail.

486 miles. 90,000 vertical feet. Denver to Durango.

CT route
CT route
CT elevation profile
CT elevation profile

After quitting my soul crushing job in November of 2016, I wanted to do something epic with my kid before he left for college. He was taking a photography class in school, and for an assignment we camped out in the foothills south of Boulder to create star travel photos.

Kyle mentioned that because of light pollution from Denver, we wouldn’t get great shots. I said that in order to get great shots we should travel deep into the mountains away from major cities, and I recalled a friend telling me there was a trail between Denver and Durango. Being mountain bikers, we wondered if we could bike the trail.

After doing a ton of research, engaging in a fitness program for 6 months, and testing and dealing with failed equipment, we did a trial run with the first segment out of Denver in June, 2017. Accomplishing that with no major issues, we began our adventure on July 5th.

Colorado Trail Log

I carried a GoPro and filmed all of the major descents, and being photographers, my son and I took a ton of photos. We recorded our adventures along the way as follows.

CT Denver terminus
Waterton Canyon to Rock Quarry
bighorn sheep lambs
Rock Quarry to Waterton Canyon
S. Platte to FR545, Colorado Trail Day 1
S. Platte to FR545
Kenosha Pass, Colorado Trail Day 3
Kenosha Pass
Breckenridge, Colorado Trail Day 4
Breckenridge
Searle Pass, Colorado Trail Day 5
Searle Pass
Leadville, Colorado Trail Day 6
Leadville
Buena Vista, Colorado Trail Day 7
Buena Vista
Mt. Shavano, Colorado Trail Day 8
Mt. Shavano
Marshall Pass, Colorado Trail Day 9
Marshall Pass
Sargents Mesa, Colorado Trail Day 10
Sargents Mesa
Highway 114, Gunnison, Colorado Trail Day 11
Highway 114, Gunnison
Carson Saddle, Colorado Trail Day 12
Carson Saddle
Silverton, Colorado Trail Day 13
Silverton
Hermosa Peak, Colorado Trail Day 14
Hermosa Peak
Indian Trail Ridge, Colorado Trail Day 15
Indian Trail Ridge
Durango, Colorado Trail Day 16
Durango

COLORADO TRAIL
Denver to Durango