Trails
Trails Overview
Clear Creek County has some of the best trails in Colorado. With more than 300 square miles of public land, mountainous terrain, and a population of less than 10,000 people, most of the more than 100 miles of multi-use trails within the county remain relatively uncrowded. Many of our trails are former mining and wagon roads, some built more than 100 years ago, that have been "re-purposed" to better suit hiking, biking and OHV users. Beginning in 2017, the new Clear Creek County Trails Crew, in collaboration with volunteer groups, the USFS, and other governmental and private organizations, has been diligently repairing, improving, building and maintaining trails across the County to meet user expectations of a world class recreational experience.
Whether you like to Hike, Bike, Jeep, OHV, Snowshoe, Ski or Snowmobile, you will find that Clear Creek County offers significant opportunity - click on the links below to find your next adventure!
Trails Status
Our seasonal Trails Team works hard to make sure Clear Creek County's Trails are in in tip-top shape for hikers, bikers, and other recreators. We are a small county of less than 10,000 people that experiences millions of tourists coming to enjoy our hundreds of miles of renown trails and trailheads. We also work to maintain historical sites to preserve our history for many others in the future to enjoy.
Click here to help us with our mission to not only fund these efforts, but also support our hardworking Trails Team.
Trail Status and Conditions Dashboard
Email Feedback / Report an Issue
Trail Information
Popular Trails Document (.pdf)
Discover and explore Colorado’s unique trail experiences with the 'Colorado Trail Explorer'. Available at no cost, COTREX (smartphone app & website) offers the most comprehensive trail info and maps available built on data from over 230 trail managers around the state. View trails by allowed uses, browse featured routes, download maps for offline viewing and route finding, record trips and notes in the field, complete challenges to earn badges, and share your experiences with the community.
Updates
07/06/2023
- Summer is here and so is high water on Clear Creek.
- The Clear Creek County Trails team has been hard at work all over, but you will notice our handiwork most on the Silver Creek Trail where we have rebuilt some washed sections of trail and replaced some rotten wooden ramps with rock ramps. All of which are permanent solutions that required moving large amounts of heavy rocks. Stop and admire the team’s handiwork if you find yourself on the trail.
- We have also spent time at Floyd Hill Open Space to clarify access on the Sluice Trail, revegetate illegal trails through the meadow and drop some hazard trees over the trail. We are finding people disregarding signage and hiking on the downhill/mountain bike only Sluice Trail which endangers both the hikers and the mountain bikers. Please obey all trail signage, it is there for your protection.
- A friendly reminder that emptying trash cans weekly at trailheads is extremely expensive, so you will find that some trailheads do not have trash service. If that is the case, please take your trash with you including pet waste bags. Bagging it and leaving it at the trailhead is unacceptable and leads to degradation of both the natural resource and user experience.
- Trails team has also spent time doing maintenance on Warren Gulch, Argentine Central Grade, Pulaski, Notch, Hassel Lake, Barbour Forks, Chief Mountain and Iron Fens over the last 30 days. Give them some kudos if you run into them.
- Please email us at trails@clearcreekcounty.us if you run into any issues on the trails in Clear Creek County. Trail name, approximate distance from the trailhead and a picture is always helpful so we know what to bring to correct the issue.
05/23/2023
- Clear Creek County Trails team started their season May 9th and they hit the ground running. First task was to move a large boulder that blocked the Silver Creek Trail at its west end.
- They have since performed maintenance on trails at Floyd Hill Open Space with the exception of the Sluice. Please give them kudos for their hard work should your paths cross.
- Team Evergreen will be running their Session Series weekly Mountain Bike Enduro Series at Floyd Hill next week(5/31,6/7, 6/21, and 6/28) starting at 4:00 p.m. The north parking lot at Floyd Hill will be closed on event days and the Sluice will be closed from about 3:00 p.m. until the park closes. Please plan your visit accordingly.
- The snow is melting up high, but it is a slow process this year delayed by the relatively shady weather we’ve had this spring--both from the weather and the smoky haze that settled over the front range in the last week. Keep this in mind if you are planning to visit any of the high-altitude basins in the county and be prepared for deep slushy snow after about 10:00 a.m. While you may easily walk on top of the snow pack in the early morning hours, that will not be the case on the return trip, so bring flotation of some sort especially if you are getting off the beaten path.
- Guanella Pass road opens at 7am on Friday May 26th and Mount Evans (please see recreation.gov for entry reservations) is estimating a similar time frame.
- The Trails Team is also developing a Volunteer Trail work program to help us maintain more county trails this summer. If you are interested in giving back and helping with this endeavor, please email jbutcher@clearcreekcounty.us with your contact information and any days you are generally available during the week.
- I look forward to seeing you out there!
04/20/2023
- Spring has kind of sprung! Please be prepared if you are venturing out during our ‘shoulder season’ here in Clear Creek County.
- Lower elevation and south facing trails should be dry or drying out at this point. If you do encounter muddy or snowy patches, please walk/ride through them and not around them. Walking/riding around creates new paths leading to resource degradation and potential drainage issues that will require a great deal of time to correct.
- If you decide to venture on to some of our higher elevation and/or north facing trails (Silverdale, Waldorf Basin, Argentine Central, Grays, Torreys, Beirstadt, etc.), please be prepared for deep snow and potentially icy stretches of trail. Keep in mind that the early morning conditions may allow you to walk on top of the snow pack, but as the day warms up so does the snow pack and that can cause you to post hole into the deep snow pack making the trip out exponentially more difficult than the trip in. Some kind of floatation (Snowshoes or skis) and traction devices (yaktrax, microspikes, etc.) are highly encouraged during this transitional time of year. It is definitely better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it in these situations.
- Also, a friendly reminder that it is your responsibility to leash and clean up after your pet. Pet waste left by pet owners spreads disease to wildlife, contaminates our water ways and degrades every users’ experience.
- As you get out on the trails, please email us at trails@clearcreekcounty.us if you run into any issues on the trails in Clear Creek County. Trail name, approximate distance from the trailhead, and a picture is always helpful so we know what to bring to correct the issue.
Links to Additional Information
Trail Maps
Non-motorized (hiking, biking, equestrian) Trails
OHV (motorized use) Trails
Trails FAQ (PDF)
Clear Creek Forum