(Marshall Pass TH - Segments 15/16)    

Looking for Trailheads Information and Directions?

Segments 11-15

Segment 11
Start - North Halfmoon

From Leadville, CO - Head south on US24 for about 3 miles and turn right on CO300. Drive .7 miles and turn left (south) on CR11. After another 1.7 miles - turn right and head towards the Halfmoon Creek Campground. Continue past the campground. You are still on CR11. You will come to the TH at near mile 7. The North Halfmoon TH is clearly marked on your right.
From Buena Vista, CO - Head North on US24 for approx 28 miles and turn left on CO300. Drive .7 miles and turn left (south) on CR11. After another 1.7 miles - turn right and head towards the Halfmoon Creek Campground. Continue past the campground. You are still on CR11. You will come to the TH at near mile 7. The North Halfmoon TH is clearly marked on your right.
Alternate - North Mt Elbert TH



Segment 12
Segment 13
Start - Silver Creek TH

Alternate - Avalanche TH
From Buena Vista, CO. From the middle of town in Buena Vista take Cottonwood Pass Rd for 9 miles and you will see the TH clearly marked on the right hand side of the road. The road is entirely paved. There is no overnight camping allowed at this TH and there is room for hundreds of vehicles.

Alternate - South Cottonwood TH
From Buena Vista, CO. From the middle of town in Buena Vista take Cottonwood Pass Rd for 7 miles to a turnoff for Cottonwood Lake. This road is also marked Chaffee County RD 344. This road quickly turns to dirt but you are only going .25 miles down this road to get to the Colorado Trail crossing. There is room here on the left side of the road for about 3-4 cars. The actual TH sign is just a bit up the trail from the small parking area.
NOTE: This TH crosses Segment 13 at it's 9 mile mark.

Segment 14
Start - Chalk Creek TH
From Buena Vista, CO. Drive south on HWY 285 from Buena Vista to the small town of Nathrop, CO. Turn right onto Chaffee County RD 162. Drive down this road for 6.8 Miles where there is a quick downhill turnoff to the left onto 291. As soon as you turn onto 291 you come right to the TH after about 100 yards.

Alternate Access - Raspberry Gulch
From Poncha Springs, CO.
From the intersection of HWY 50 and HWY 285 in Poncha Springs, drive 12.1 Miles north on HWY 285. Turn left (west) on county road 270. There is a sign here telling you that Raspberry Gulch is 4 miles away:

Come to an intersection and continue straight on the now dirt road. Reach another intersection that is marked with a sign pointing you to Raspberry Gulch. Stay on FS274:

 After a short distance you will come to another intersection where FS 274 continues right. You want to turn left here onto FS 273:

The road gets a little rougher here but standard 2-wheel drive passenger cars can easily make the drive up to Raspberry Gulch, only a short distance away.  Raspberry Gulch is a nice spot to camp although it is open range and there are typically cows everywhere:

Alternate Access - Angel Of Shavano Trailhead
From Poncha Springs, CO.
From the intersection of HWY 50 and HWY 285 in Poncha Springs, drive 6.2 miles west on HWY 50 toward Gunnison, CO. Turn right onto county road 240:

Immediately after turning there is a sign indicating 4 miles to the trailhead:

Segment 15
Start - US 50
From Poncha Springs, CO. head west on HWY US 50 for 9 miles to the turnoff to Fooses Creek Rd (left). There is a small parking area here.

Across the street - end of Segment 14 on HWY US 50:

Across the street - The end of Segment 14 on HWY US 50:

Alternate - South Fooses Creek TH
From the parking area/turnoff of US HWY 50, the first 2.8 miles of segment 15 follow the Fooses Creek Rd to a small parking area: