Pagosa Springs, CO – Overview: 8 miles round trip, 2500 feet elevation gain – strenuous in the San Juan National Forest
This hike is a story of 3 trail segments that are quite different from each other. All three segments add up to an exhilarating (and exhausting) hike that visits ponds, streams, drainages, aspen groves, and finally a saddle between two peaks. I would classify the hike as strenuous due to elevation gain, difficult footing on loose surfaces and some route finding challenges. If you’re looking for spectacular alpine views, look elsewhere (such as our hike on the CDT from Wolf Creek Pass) as this hike is almost entirely in the forest, starting around 8500 ft and ending around 11,000 ft.
The Opal Lake Trailhead is well marked
The first segment is the easiest, starting from the Opal Lake trailhead and heading uphill about 0.9 miles to the junction with Fish Creek Trail. This trail segment is typical of many trails in National Forests: well marked, well maintained and well graded (e.g., not too steep). Expect plenty of human traffic as the hike to Opal Lake is fairly easy and offers good fishing opportunities. Notice a swampy area as you ascend. Not exactly what you expect to find in the mountains of Colorado.
Aspen forest on the route to Opal Lake
The sign for Fish Creek Trail was easy to find
The second segment begins at the signed Fish Creek Trail junction and heads east on a faint path. Clearly this trail is not well used as it’s hard to ensure you’re still on the right path. The trail heads into heavy vegetation numerous times. My only recommendation is to look ahead and try to find something that could possibly be considered a trail. After bush whacking through waist high brush for awhile, the trail heads very steeply up a drainage, with lots and lots of small rocks to trip on for additional fun. If you can’t tell already, I’m not a fan of this segment. The trail is hard to find, the vegetation is annoyingly dense and the grade is extremely steep in places. But persevere, better trail is coming.
A section of Fish Creek Trail
High grasses made the trail difficult to spot
You’ll know the third segment of the trail is underfoot by the fact it’s really easy to find. I don’t know why this section is well maintained when forest service personnel have to hike through the un-maintaned section to get here. You’d think they maintain the entire thing. In any case, the trail is now easy to follow, there are no bushes to hack through and the grade is moderated by switchbacks. Just put one foot after the other about 5,000 times and you’ll soon be at the saddle. Speaking of switchbacks, some hikers love them while some hate them. I’m of the former opinion. Not only do they prevent erosion, but they offer a more reasonable and safe grade vs. going straight up.
Another view along the trail
View from the third section of trail
We used Hiking Colorado’s Weminuche and South San Juan Wilderness Areas by Donna Ikenberry to pick this hike. The book mentions a non-official (and really faint) trail that heads to the summit of Flattop Mountain. I decided I had enough for the day and headed back to the car. I did use my GPS to drop breadcrumbs the entire route just in case I couldn’t find the trail in segment two, but I managed fine. I think occasionally looking backwards on the way in helps me notice landmarks on the way back out. The three really tricky route finding areas I mentally noted while hiking in were easy to spot 2 hours later when returning to the trailhead.
We hiked here while staying at the Wolf Creek Run Motorcoach Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. While in Pagosa Springs we also hiked on the CDT at Wolf Creek Pass, visited Treasure Falls & Treasure Mountain, hiked at Reservoir Hill Park and Turkey Springs, and visited the East Fork area of the San Juan National Forest. We also drove a scenic loop through the Rio Grand National Forest that crossed the Continental Divide and traveled through spectacular mountains and valleys to Platoro, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico before returning to Pagosa Springs.
