2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. The walk down a single lane unused road along the creek to the trail is a nice walk in itself. Back at car 350. little traffic, some mountain bikers, will definitely do again. 1st meadow full of cows, cow pies and cows protecting calves. Know Before You Go: Regulations, Outdoor Safety and More, San Juan National ForestHeadquarters Elk Meadow is a 5,121 ft popular singletrack trail located near Fraser Colorado. Mosquitos and biting flies swarm when you stop moving. Ends at the water. In high water, the trout do not see as many surface foods, making subsurface imitations like nymphs, emergers, and streamers their main focus. There are a lot of trees down throughout the Johnson Creek and Needle Creek drainages - another hiker counted 155 trees across the trail on the way down from Chicago Basin to Needleton, but it looks like the FS is working their way up, clearing from the bottom up. This trail is great for hiking, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. not another hiker in site for us. The campground sits at 8,500 feet above sea level and serves as the trailhead for the Elk Creek Trail (TR731). This same attraction can also affect other aspects of your wilderness experience, by decreasing overall solitude with increased visitation. Plenty water sources, every day at least 2. At the trail's highest point is a series of stillwaters called Dipping Lakes. Worthy of recognition, especially during. Nearby grocery stores include Safeway, City Market Pharmacy, and Trail's End Mercantile. Elk Creek drains the northern portion of the Grenadier Range, which includes Arrow, Vestal, and the Trinity Peaks; a mecca for mountaineers. Official websites use .gov A .gov Creek is still high and the closer you get to the 2nd bridge the rock slides are tricky so be careful Outfitter-guides who receive any form of compensation must obtain a special-use permit to operate on public land. The drive to reach this trailhead is long and somewhat rough (moderate to rough in difficulty) requiring over 25 miles on 4x4 roads. The trail follows Elk Creek from its confluence with the Conejos River to its upper reaches and passes through a variety of terrain including deep canyons and wide meadowed valleys. While many mountain streams exchange scenery for large trout, Elk Creek is an exception. We met others that were completing this 36-40 mile trip as we were walking into the wilderness from Needleton. One access to the train is in Antonito, CO, online Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad or call (719) 376-5483 for more information. Ability Rating: Moderate to difficult Give a Gift This is a very popular area for birding, camping, and hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. ATV Riding. Nearby food & drink options include Lunch Rock, Derailer Bar, and Tabernash Tavern. . There are 31 campsites (6 are pull-through) with tables and fireplaces, 3 vault type toilets, drinking water (3 hand pumps) and refuse receptacles for your convenience. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 1 h 7 min to complete. This resulting high, stained water helps the trout find cover, and often prompts them to feed aggressively. Many . I live nearby and like to use the trail as a training tool. From the trail head to the South San Juan Wilderness boundary only. 50 inches. Fly Fisherman's digital editor Josh Bergan describes the main forage foods of trout in alpine environments, including baitfish, crustaceans, and insects. Elk Creek provides excellent opportunities for trout fishing along its entire length. It also gets steeper after this point. Camping is not allowed within 100 feet of any water source. Fishing: Elk Creek is rated good for rainbow and brook trout in the lower section of the creek. 15 Burnett Court Durango, CO 81301 Use web site: Memorial Day weekend - The second Monday of September. To reach the trailhead, take 7th Street/Midland, which becomes the Buford Road (CR 245). Think carefully about each step before you cast. Plenty of camping spot along the way. This trail is great, cant wait to go back and takes lots of family pics along the way! The bridge at Vallecito Creek, near Johnson Creek, is still good. Wildlife, Create Recommended Route or Dogs are welcome and may be off-leash in some areas. About 2.25 miles from the parking area is where the trail goes out to more exposed rock and fewer trees. The trail is in great condition until the second meadow, a couple of downed trees, but not much else. Just north ofMolas Pass, turn right (east) into dirt parking lot. The campground is composed of three loops, including overflow camping. Select a dry fly with enough buoyancy to suspend the nymph throughout the drift without sinking. The south end of the trail is accessible from Centennial Trailhead, which is located near the Forest Boundary at the end of County Road 241. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock This approach is very long, requires a . Debris form 2020 avalanches on the elk park section have been cleared but theres quite a bit of fallen trees blocking the needle creek trail out of the Chicago Basin. Remember to slow down your casting stroke on both the forward cast and backcast, allowing enough time for the flies to turn over when using longer leaders. There are a lot of down trees and we had rain and some route finding to cross streams. At a higher level of commitment, the creek has enough terrain and water to support a multiday backpacking trip. The fourth day we hiked from Chicago basin to the needleton train stop, which was an easy ~7 miles downhill. Lots of wildflowers. very nice in good weather. Horseback Riding. After crossing the creek, continue for another 0.5 miles to an intersection with Spring Creek Trail #2068, which is just past a second creek crossing with a log bridge. Backpack from Molas Lake - Take Colorado Trail down Elk Park, cross the Animas River (nice footbridge), hike along the Durango Silverton Railroad for a short distance and continue on Elk Creek/Colorado Trail past beaver ponds towards the point where Colorado Trail connects with Continental Divide Trail. On a small stream, twitching the fly to supply movement, while keeping the fly in the water longer, can be key to success. 102 Elk Creek . #731-8,800' at trail head, to 11,750' trail end at Dipping Lakes, # 732-8,900 to 10,040 end at Duck Lake. Consider a day trip on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (steam) which offers a 64-mile journey through abandoned mining towns. I prefer foam flies like the BC Hopper. The trail joins the Continental Divide Scenic Trail #813. Submit one here . Official websites use .gov A .gov At the bridge that crosses the creek the real trail begins, and so does the climbing. Good fishing. Theres a point on the drive up that you cant get past, so you have to actually park and walk 1.5 miles until you get to the trailhead. Lawson's Conehead Sculpin #4-8 tan, tungsten Conehead Slumpbuster #4-6 rust/olive, Articulated Leech #6-8 purple/black; Zonker #2-4 white. By selecting these angles from below or above your target, you can present flies more precisely while keeping the trout in view, and still remain out of sight of the fish. Even crossed paths with three different types of baby snakes! Recent avalanche activity over the winter/spring created several debris fields that required us to do some significant trailblazing. From here, the trail climbs steeply uphill and leads visitors to the rim of the canyon. Great sounds! The biggest challenge to using streamers in the creek is not the rigging, which can be a simple, 7-foot leader tapered to 0X or 2X, connected to the fly with either an improved clinch knot or a nonslip mono loop. We estimated ~100 trees that we had to go over, under, or around - felt like a tough mudder. Instead, drift a nymph tied with a weighted bead, preferably tungsten, or lead substitute wire wrapped around the hook shank. US Forest Service Not a bad hike up to the South Elk Creek waterfall. ) or https:// means you've safely Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 3 h 10 min to complete. It took us 7 days to complete it. "Moderate" seems an understatement. Map Information, White River Vehicle Info. Got there too late in afternoon to make it all the way to the end though. In a big river, you can cast a streamer far, and retrieve it a long way. Featured Routes. Elk Creek Trail follows a steep and rocky incline paralleling Elk Creek from Elk Creek Campground (8, 500 feet above sea level) to the Fourth Meadows, in the San Juan Mountains. We had a lot of rain, starting everyday around 1 pm and lasting for a couple of hours. Think of angles instead of areas, and approach either from below or perpendicular to the fish. 12.7 miles - Turn left on "Elk Creek/ FS 891.2" for 1.8 miles. Lots of great waterfalls and views along the way. There is public access to the Conejos River and Elk Creek. I've done a lot of trails in the areathis one is my new favorite. Cant wait to check it out in other seasons! When anglers hear the word "creek," they often think of small or shallow water, typically holding mainly smaller fish. I highly recommend it. Other trails which can be reached via the El Creek Trail are the Notch Trail #729 and the Rough Creek Trail #727. Map Information. *\n*Learn more: [Boondocking 101](https . Map showing recreational areas. You follow along Elk Creek the entire way and theres beautiful waterfalls. It is common to see the naturals land on the water from the grass lining the water's edge in the four meadow stretches. All Rights Reserved. Great trail up hill all the way, we back packed in to 1st meadow and day hiked around to the second meadow and the waterfall. Weather. Avalanche debris was cleared. Rate Quality . Highway 17 is a secenic byway, Los Caminos Antiguos. The trail is always very clear and easy to follow. No conditions reported in the past 7 days. Remember to filter water and practice low-impact camping and follow all Wilderness restrictions. Well be back with more snow has melted to do it all the way! Gorgeous views. Ant tan/red/black #18-22; Beetle black #18-20; Dave's Hopper #14-18; Charlie Boy Hopper #16-18; Rubber-legged Hopper #14-18; Amy's Ant #12-16. Colorado Free Camping Antonito Elk Creek Trail Dispersed Camping Elk Creek Trail Dispersed Camping Rio Grande National Forest. Elk Creek provides excellent opportunities for trout fishing along its entire length. hard to enjoy the meadow that way. After 1.3 miles, turn right onto County Road 241 (East Elk Creek Road) and travel 4.3 miles north to the Centennial Trailhead parking lot. Bring an extra blood bag as you'll need to counter what's sucked out of you by the mosquitoes. Black flies were a pain the whole week. Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 Really strenuous going up be we also went mid day when it was hot. East Elk Creek Trail #1841 is 6.9 miles long and is the closest Forest Service recreation site to the Town of New Castle. The understory is grass with some sites located next to Elk Creek. Colorado Mountain . The more exposed areas will heat up quickly. To read the full instructions and story see our February-March 2021 issue. Know Before You Go: Regulations, Outdoor Safety and More, San Juan National ForestHeadquarters ["Elk Creek Trail", "Elk Creek Trail Dispersed Camping"] description => ["*Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Cub Creek Trail starts from Beaver Brook road in the back of Evergreen. Hearing Impaired: 719-852-6271, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/riogrande/recarea/?recid=29522, Rio Grande NF Motorized Travel & Game Retrival. Any feedback appreciated. 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