#1 Favorite Colorado Hiking Trail

Posted by Cindy Ervin  9/9/2011

#1 favorite hiking area - Pawnee Pass Trail from Brainard Lake Rec Area to the Continental Divide – 4.6 mi. one-way. Elev. 10,520’-12,550’. Near Ward, Colorado.

This really is one of the greatest hiking trails in this world. Even if you can’t make it to the top, every step you take is worth your while. I love the trail because it is constantly changing with forests, meadows, waterfalls, lakes and streams. It climbs through aspen glens into conifer forests and then up above treeline through snowfields and rocks along cliffs with incredible views. It is a very strenuous all-day hike in some serious altitude, but if I can do it, then you can too.

It is a very popular hike, despite being outside the national park. If you arrive after 8am like we did, the lot will be full, and you will have to park your car an extra half-mile down mountain from the trailhead, making your total hike 10.2 miles. I’ve always had breathing difficulties, so we hiked slowly (9 hours), but it was absolutely the most fantastic hike. Jeff liked it best too, even though we had to keep stopping to let all the other hikers pass. Most hikers do not go all the way to the pass, though, so the crowds thin with each step, as does the oxygen. 

The high trail does not open until mid-July and is best hiked after the snow melts in mid-August. It goes through pure, pristine wilderness. There are absolutely no roads here. You can hike the whole 15 miles all the way over the Continental Divide to Lake Granby if you can find someone willing to drive the 115 miles around the Rocky Mountains to pick you up on the other side. Many people actually do it.

A patch of Rocky Mountain Columbine grows on a rock outcrop above treeline on the Pawnee Pass Trail.