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Eldorado Canyon Trail

Intermediate/Difficult
 3.9 (45)
  1. Areas
  2. CO
  3. …Front Range
  4. …Boulder
  5. Eldorado Canyon State Park
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“A scenic and fairly easy climb ending at South Boulder Creek and Walker Ranch. ”

Ben Carver
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Map Key

3.1

Miles

5.0

KM

Point to Point

7,087' 2,160 m

High

6,128' 1,868 m

Low

1,057' 322 m

Up

735' 224 m

Down

11%

Avg Grade (6°)

44%

Max Grade (24°)

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Views

There is an $10.00 vehicle fee to enter the park.

Description

This trail starts at Eldorado Canyon State Park. Drive to the visitor's center and hike north from there.

The trail climbs steadily through several switchbacks. After an hour or so it will flatten out and then descend to South Boulder Creek. From there, you can join the Walker Ranch trail. Watch out for bikes at the trail junction.

Eldorado Canyon is very popular with hikers and rock climbers. It will be crowded on weekends. Get there early to avoid the crowds.

Contacts

Land Manager: City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks

Shared By:

Ben Carver with improvements by Catherine O.
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  3.9 from 45 votes

#2

in Eldorado Canyon State Park

#96

Overall
  3.9 from 45 votes
5 Star
18%
4 Star
58%
3 Star
18%
2 Star
7%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#2

in Eldorado Canyon State…

#27

in Colorado

#96

Overall
119 Views Last Month
7,677 Since Apr 13, 2015
Intermediate/Difficult
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Photos

Views at Eldo.
Oct 31, 2016 near Coal Creek, CO
Looking southeast towards Denver. from the Eldorado Canyon Trail Denver skyline visible through the haze in the "V" of the mountains.
Apr 13, 2015 near Coal Creek, CO
South Boulder Creek
Apr 13, 2015 near Coal Creek, CO
Just another reason we live here!
May 15, 2019 near Coal Creek, CO
View down Eldorado Canyon
Nov 28, 2017 near Boulder, CO
View north from the top of the Eldorado Canyon Trail.
Apr 13, 2015 near Coal Creek, CO

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Current Trail Conditions

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Check-Ins

Jun 6, 2021
Matt Culpepper
Great trail from the Creek to the Creek and back (6.5/1100/600) 6.5mi
Jun 5, 2021
Floyd Hartley
Feb 28, 2021
Rachel Pierstorff
Patches of snow and ice - microspikes solve that issue though 5mi
Jan 2, 2021
Matt Makowski
Pretty arduous for a moderate trail. But was mostly ice-free.
Dec 30, 2020
Jonah Petoskey
7.1mi — 2h 59m
Nov 8, 2020
Michael Schieferecke
very steep the first mile and the last .8. — 3h 37m
Jul 4, 2020
Azeb Gugsa
May 16, 2020
Maren Miller

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