Colorado Trail Segment 3 Hike Information & Review

Colorado Trail Segment 3 Hike Trail Guide

November 19, 2019 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 0 Comment

Colorado Trail Segment 3 is the third segment of the Colorado Trail that stretches from Littleton, Colorado to Durango Colorado. This segment is popular with day mountain bikers and has moderate traffic. Colorado Trail segment 3 starts at Little Scraggy TH and ends at Rolling Creek TH. The trail is 12.5 miles long with just under 2,000 ft of elevation gain. Views on Colorado Trail segment 3 are not the best in the first three segments in my opinion.

Colorado Trail Segment 3 Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Colorado Trail Segment 3

Colorado Trail Segment 3 Hike Rating: ★★ (2/5 Stars)

Distance: 12.5 miles (one way)

Elevation Start: 7,444 ft

Highest Point: 8,307 ft

Total Elevation Gain: 1,827 ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 6-8 Hours One Way

Difficulty: Moderate What does this mean?

Class: Class 1

Season: April – November (Expect snow outside of this period)

Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Colorado Trail Segment 3

Trailhead: Little Scraggy or Rolling Creek

Getting Here: Both parking areas on Colorado Trail Segment 3 are accessible to all vehicle types.

To Little Scraggy

Take 285 to Pine Junction and turn left on Jefferson County Rd 126 (Pine Valley Road) and continue through the towns of Pine and Buffalo Creek. From Pine Junction, the trailhead is 16.8 miles on the left. Once you are near the trailhead, look for FS Rd 550, take this for .1 miles to reach the parking area.

To Rolling Creek

Take 285 to Bailey and turn left on Wellington Lake Road. Contine on this road (which eventually turns to dirt) for 8 miles to reach the trailhead entrance on the right. In snowy months, you can park here as this is where the segment ends. If you are starting the hike for segment 4 and can drive further, continue up .3 miles to reach the start of the trail. You can enter Rolling Creek TH into your favorite navigational device.

Fees: $7 at Little Scraggy, $0 at Rolling Creek.

Parking: Both ends of Segment 3 of the Colorado Trail offer easy parking. Little Scraggy will usually get crowded on weekends, especially with mountain bikers but the lot is so massive I would find it hard to imagine having trouble finding a spot. At the other end of the segment, hiking is much less popular and the lot is not very large.Only Little Scraggy has a non-plumbing bathroom, Rolling Creek does not.

Summary

Camping: Camping along the Colorado Trail segment 3 is very easy with a number of spots to choose from. Once you get near Rolling Creek, spots will be harder to find as terrain is mostly in the woods and not super flat.

Dogs: Colorado Trail Segment 3 is dog friendly from start to finish. There are a number of water sources along the way as well.

Make it a Loop: The Colorado Trail Segment 3 is an out and back hike. There are ways to hike through Roxborough State Park to extend your hike, but at best, would make this a lollipop loop.

Trail X Factors: Lots of Water Sources & Camping Spots

Whether you are through hiking the Colorado Trail or just hiking segment 3, there are a ton of water sources and camping spots along the way. This is great for those looking for a spot to camp after a long day or trying to stay hydrated in the hot summer months. We hiked Colorado Trail segment 3 in late October and there were a number of water sources still running.

Mick’s Tip: When hiking Colorado Trail segment 3, be sure to pay attention to your surroundings. Heavy towards the beginning of the trail, but present throughout, are mountain bikers. In addition there is a gun range towards the 9 mile mark where you may hear shots in the woods being fired.

Best Views: To be honest with you, the views along Colorado Trail segment 3 are not that great. There are a handful of outlooks here and there, but in general you are hiking through the thick forest. There are some unique rock formations near the Little Scraggy side of the hike that may provide a nice picture opportunity.

Colorado Trail Segment 3 Hike Route

Gear Needed

Optional: Cook Kit
Optional: Hiking Poles

Jackie’s Gear:

Sleeping Bag

Juno’s Gear

Harness

Colorado Trail Books:

Full Version
Pocket Guide
*Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.

Our Trip to Colorado Trail Segment 3: October 2019

The hike through Colorado Trail segment 3 was part of a larger day for Jackie, Juno and I. To read about part one, check out my previous post.

After a smooth hike through Colorado Trail segment 2, we arrived to Little Scraggy TH around 1PM in the afternoon. It was late October and although snow from a recent storm covered the ground, the weather was pleasant. Sunny, mid 60’s and a nice breeze in the air. A near perfect day for some hiking. Segment 2 was very secluded and that atmosphere immediately changed as we started hiking Colorado Trail segment 3. The area was full of other hikers, trail runners and mountain bikers. After just 20-30 minutes of hiking, we were starving and decided to have lunch in one of the camping spots along the trail.

During lunch, we all sat in a spot that matched our personalities: Jackie sat in the sun while Juno sat in the snow and I found a nice spot on a rock in the shade. We enjoyed a few snacks and some water before moving on. Around 2 miles in there was a nice little overlook that provided some good views of Mt Bierstadt and Mt Evans in the distance. Both mountains were already covered in snow, signs that winter was quickly approaching.

After taking in the views, we continued along Colorado Trail segment 3. The terrain was rolling and the trail was covered in snow in the woods but melting fast so lots of wet and slushy snow in the sun. About a quarter of the way into the hike as we started to pass by some unique rock formations, our legs all started to feel like jello. I was hiking faster than Jackie so had to keep waiting for her to catch up. While doing so, even Juno started to lay down on the ground. We kept pushing through the forest but Juno kept looking back at us like, “guys wtf are we doing here right now.” After another hour of hiking, we stopped for a quick snack break because Jackie told me she was going to pass out.

The snack break seemed to help Jackie but really hurt me. I had ran 20 miles the day before and swam 2.4 miles so the break let the lactic acid soak in and man was I sore. As we kept hiking Colorado Trail segment 3, the sun started to dip down and the temperatures followed suit. We were about 3 miles from the end of the segment and I was downright freezing. I had a number of layers I could put on, but kept telling myself it was only three miles and I would be fine. Around mile 10, morale was getting low. Juno kept sitting (sometimes laying) down in the trail and both Jackie and I had slowed our pace significantly. What made things even better is that the trail had steady elevation gain from mile 10 to the finish at mile 12.5.

Eventually, dusk departed and nighttime arrived. Jackie took out her headlamp, but I was too stubborn to so just kept hiking along in the dark, freezing cold. I was in a full blown mental battle with mother nature and I refused to be defeated. Around mile 11 we started to hear dogs barking in the distance and thought we had to be close. The trail was covered in wet 2-3 inch deep snow and we were breaking trail again. Mentally, I was about to snap, so I thought it was a good idea to take out the headlamp. The extra light was nice, but it just allowed me to see farther down the trail, with each turn expecting to see the end of the hike and being let down.

As we hiked down our final descent of the day and arrived at the final hill, Jackie was #done. She told me before seeing the hill, “if there is another hill, you can just leave me here.” I just ignored her, knowing nothing I could say would help and started hiking up the steep hill. It only gained about 100 ft of elevation according to our guide, but it felt more like 1,000 ft over the ¼ mile section of trail. We rounded another corner and my headlamp made out the reflection of a car in the distance. I knew we had made it. Juno, Jackie and I hiked the final couple hundred yards of Colorado Trail segment 3 and started up the car to warm it up.

Throughout the hike, we had talked about breweries, fast food and ice cream and yet when we reached the car, we all just wanted to be home. Juno fell asleep in the backseat almost immediately. I shot some of the worst video footage I had ever created. Jackie and I took a forced smile end of segment 3 picture and we got into the car. Immediately, I cranked up the heat to 90 to warm my body which was cold to the bone.

I will be the first to admit that our goal for the day was lofty. Hiking both Colorado Trail segment 2 and Colorado Trail segment 3 in one day was ambitious. However, I felt that Colorado Trail segment 3 was my least favorite of the three we had hiked to date. The views were lackluster, the terrain was boring and the elevation gain was steady. After some time to let this awful end of a hike settle in, I was looking forward to the next segments of the Colorado Trail, but I was not sure that Jackie (or Juno) would ever hike again.