Trail 403

Cappie’s Scoop: This trail was covered in wildflowers and there was water to dip my paws in too. It started to rain on our way back so mom and I hurried to the car to avoid getting really muddy. I hope we go back to this town one day and hike more in the flowers! Don’t hesitate to add YOUR scoop in the comments below!

Tips: Crested Butte is the wildflower capital of Colorado and this trail was one of many amazing spots for hiking among wildflowers! The first mile is steep gaining quite a bit of elevation but when you’re wading through wildflowers and stopping to take pictures, you hardly notice it. The trail climbs up into the trees for shade and there is one stream crossing which was easy enough without rock hopping. At the first unmarked junction, we took a left and headed towards Gothic Mountain with a peak of 12,631 ft but we only made it halfway up because it was extremely steep, actually so steep that it felt vertical. So we turned around feeling good that we at least tried. Please remember not to pick or step on any of the wildflowers. Leave them unharmed for others to enjoy and remember to follow the Leave No Trace principles.

Directions: The Washington Gulch trailhead listed here is about a 10 minute drive down a beautiful road (filled with wildflowers in July) from downtown Crested Butte. If you stage two cars, you can do a point-to-point hike since this trail connects with others! From the town of Crested Butte, go about one mile north on County Road 317 to the intersection with Washington Gulch Road, CR 811. Continue on CR 811 for approximately 6 miles to reach the trailhead and a small parking lot on the left-hand side of the road just after passing the campground.