Coulson Gulch Trail

As I was flipping through one of our guidebooks looking for a new area to hike, I came across the Coulson Gulch trail in Big Elk Meadows.  The guidebook described it as a remote, rugged area without the typical crowds on the trail.  That sounded just right to us, so we headed out there Sat morning.

Big Elk Meadows is about 10 miles northwest of Lyons on CO-36, just past Pinewood Springs.  To get there, you take CO-36 out of Lyons to Big Elk Meadow Dr, aka CR-118.  After turning left on that road you drive for about 3 miles till the road turns to dirt and forks.  The right hand choice leads up to a private neighborhood with a locked gate.  The left choice is a bumpy, rutted dirt road that leads to a large parking area and the trailhead.  I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving that road myself without a high clearance vehicle, but I did see a few sedans parked at the trailhead.  The parking area is also a trailhead for Johnny Park Road for ATVs and off roaders.  The Coulson Gulch trailhead is to the left as you come in to the parking area.

We got started a little bit earlier than usual, getting to the trailhead by 9am.  The weather was looking beautiful, with blue sky and sunshine but not too hot.  The trail started off immediately downhill.  After a short section in the meadow at the beginning, we dropped into the trees.  We could tell it is still spring in the high country; there were many broken branches and downed trees.  A while after we got into the trees we noticed that the ditch beside the trail now had water in it, and pretty soon it was a real creek with running water following alongside the trail.  Several times we had to cross it, and tested out Stacie’s new waterproof boots.

About one mile into the hike the trail opened up a little bit and we started descending even more steeply down the side of the gulch,  We found a nice overlook on the right side of the trail:

From the overlook we continued down the trail through several steep sections and a few switchbacks.  This part of the trail had the worst descents; in one section we dropped 300 feet in a quarter of a mile.  We were already dreading coming back up. 

Eventually the trail dropped down to the floor of the gulch.  At about 1.5 miles an old prospector’s cabin sat right next to the trail.  There’s not much left other than the walls and a couple of metal relics, like an old bed frame and a stove.  Just past the cabin were some interesting looking trees, like this one shaped like a gooseneck:

Soon after the cabin the trail opened up completely as we entered Higgins Park.  We had some beautiful views of Cook Mountain and North and South Sheep Mountains.

After crossing Higgins Park the trail joined up with the old Button Rock 4wd trail.  This section of the trail was relatively flat, and wide enough for us to walk side by side.  We continued along for about a mile until we reached the North St. Vrain Creek.

Just on the other side of the bridge we stopped to eat some lunch. As we were eating we started seeing clouds rolling in and heard a little bit of thunder in the distance, so we finished up quickly and started back.

The way back was uphill the entire way, but it wasn’t as bad as we were expecting.  It was strenuous at times, but it was less stress on the knees and ankles than the long downhill.  Although the clouds and thunder continued threatening, it didn't actually start to rain until just after we got back to the Hummer.  We finished our lunch there and then took a leisurely drive home.

See all of the pictures: Photo Gallery

Trail Information:
Name: Coulson Gulch Trail
Location: Big Elk Meadows, CO (near Pinewood Springs, CO)
Length: 5.8 miles round trip (to the North St. Vrain and back) 
Difficulty: Moderate
GPX file: Download
Map:
Elevation Profile: