Trail of the Week: Red Hill Loop, Carbondale, Colorado

Photo: Ann Driggers

Our Trail of the Week feature is made possible through a partnership with Trail Run Project, a crowd-sourced collaboration by and for the running community. Thanks to Jason Smith for mapping and describing this route.

This route touches on most of the great singletrack in the main Red Hill trail system. However, there are many options to run trails in a different order or direction. You can also do a much longer run by extending out to Elk Traverse / North Side Loop.

On the front side, the main volume of traffic usually ascends Three Gulch & descends Blue Ribbon. If you want a steeper, more direct route with fewer bikers, consider going up Mushroom Rock and linking to the trails on the backside from there.

Expect people, dogs & bikers. Feel free to bring your dog, but please clean up after them because this area is a heavily used. Be on the alert for cryptobiotic soil, stay on the trail to avoid damage to sensitive ecosystems.

The Data

Miles: 6.2

Runnable: 86 percent

Average Grade: 7 percent

Max Grade: 22 percent

Total Ascent: 1,139 feet

Total Descent: -1,137 feet

Highest Elevation: 6,987 feet

For a closer look, check out the interactive map, data, photos courtesy of Trail Run Project:

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