Yellow Trail #522

Dogs Off-leash

First things first, this is a horse trail so its a bit wider than standard singletrack; if that bothers you stay away. This is a bit long for a hike but doable if you're up for it.

There are several trails to choose from at the trailhead for a total of about 40 miles in this area.

The Yellow and the Red Trail begin together and overlap for the first two miles of this 14-mile loop; note that the kiosk says the trail is 16 miles long but two separate GPS units say it is 14.

The first two miles of this trail are typical horse trail that are very exciting, but once the Yellow Trail splits off from the Red, it become much more pleasant. The trail is also very wide, think ATV trail but it is considered singletrack. You'll get in about 10 miles of fast trail before you encounter more up and down trail as you return to the parking lot.

The trail is marked with yellow arrows but they can be difficult to locate at times. It is highly recommend you download the GPX file to your GPS or use the Hiking Project mobile app and just follow the track verses getting lost. The official trailhead is at Warden Station and camping is allowed there. However, I would highly recommend the camping at Coleman Lake which has power, dump station, and bath houses.

You can access the trail from Coleman Lake by hiking across the dam on the loop trail around the lake then go immediately uphill to the left but the trail eventually swings to the right and into the Yellow Trail. Though this is a horse trail, you are likely to have the trail to yourself once you get away from the trailhead. Remember to yield the trail to equestrian users.

Pros: Fast, wide, remote (no cell service), camping, scenic
Cons: Horses, briers can lean into the trail, little traffic so leaves can cover the trail in the fall