The Best Backpacking in Chaffee County

Start out on the Shavano and Tabeguache Trailhead off of FR 252 outside of Poncha Springs, at about 9,700 feet, and begin your trek into the forest. In the first half of a mile there are a few trail marker signs that should be read carefully to insure the right path is followed, but these signs ...

Colorado Trail : Segment 16 is a point-to-point trail that takes you by a river located near Sargents, Colorado.

Mount Antero via Wagon and Little Browns Creek Trail is an out-and-back trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Nathrop, Colorado.

Colorado Trail : Segment 17 is a point-to-point trail that takes you by a river located near Saguache, Colorado.

Fossil Ridge Trail is a point-to-point trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Pitkin, Colorado.

Colorado Trail: CR 306 to CR 322 is an out-and-back trail that takes you through a nice forest located near Buena Vista, Colorado.

When you begin the trail, make sure to choose the correct trailhead from the parking lot (located on the south side of the lot to the left, NOT behind the bathroom). From there, begin a moderate climb through a shaded fir forest to the tree line. Emerge in a meadow at a pond and the lower lake, ...

Starting at the North Cottonwood trailhead just outside of Buena Vista, Colorado. This hike will take you 4.5 miles to the lake with about 2750 feet of elevation gain. The hike is mostly mellow and you'll likely see hikers heading up to Horn Fork basin to hike Mt. Harvard and Columbia. Campsites ...

Bear Lake via Horn Fork Trail is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a lake located near Buena Vista, Colorado.

Kroenke Lake Trail is a loop trail that takes you by a river located near Loma, Colorado.

Mount Columbia via Horn Fork Basin Trail is an out-and-back trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Buena Vista, Colorado.

Hayden Creek Rainbow Trail #1336 is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a river located near Coaldale, Colorado.

Finding a winter or early spring adventure that won't take you deep into dangerous mountain territory, while still providing epic vistas, is a challenge in Colorado. There are a few 10,000' tall ranges that sometimes escape deep snow, which are inviting for a first step into the alpine wonderland...

Mount Harvard via Frenchman Creek Trail 1457 is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a river located near Buena Vista, Colorado.

Mount Oxford via Pine Creek Trail is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a river located near Buena Vista, Colorado.

Mount Harvard via Pine Creek Trail is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a river located near Buena Vista, Colorado.