125 official trails lie within 25 miles of Cortez — 439 miles in total, 79 rated easy and 21 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.
The biggest climb nearby gains 3,474 ft; the median trail gains 219 ft.
| Trail | Miles | Climb | Difficulty | Drive from town |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morrison Trail | 11.0 | 1,810 ft | Expert | 1 h 25 min · 34 mi |
| Stoner Creek Trail | 8.0 | 1,481 ft | Expert | 48 min · 28 mi |
| Aspen Loop | 7.1 | 1,631 ft | Hard | 1 h 01 min · 28 mi |
| Sage Hen Loop | 11.9 | 772 ft | Expert | 34 min · 16 mi |
| Box Canyon Trail | 6.7 | 1,428 ft | Hard | 54 min · 27 mi |
| Little Bean Canyon Trail | 11.5 | 700 ft | Hard | 35 min · 18 mi |
| Sand Canyon Trail | 5.8 | 1,379 ft | Hard | 34 min · 15 mi |
| Chicken Creek Trail | 6.6 | 1,286 ft | Hard | 58 min · 28 mi |
| Loading Pen Trail | 3.9 | 1,770 ft | Hard | 45 min · 28 mi |
| West Mancos Trail | 4.8 | 1,009 ft | Hard | 59 min · 28 mi |
| Boggy Upper Loop | 7.6 | 857 ft | Hard | 59 min · 23 mi |
| Pipeline Clearing | 5.6 | 517 ft | Hard | 36 min · 24 mi |
| Prater Ridge Trail | 6.2 | 679 ft | Hard | 31 min · 14 mi |
| Owens Basin Trail | 2.9 | 1,513 ft | Moderate | 1 h 03 min · 30 mi |
| McPhee Overlook Trail | 8.5 | 296 ft | Hard | 20 min · 11 mi |
| Lost Chicken Trail | 8.0 | 458 ft | Hard | 54 min · 25 mi |
| Starvation Creek Trail | 3.8 | 1,093 ft | Moderate | 49 min · 30 mi |
| Ramparts Loop | 4.4 | 981 ft | Moderate | 51 min · 26 mi |
| Tava Yaakwi Trail | 6.2 | 375 ft | Moderate | 38 min · 19 mi |
| Shush Bekeeh Trail | 8.0 | 260 ft | Moderate | 41 min · 18 mi |
| Boggy Trail | 8.3 | 294 ft | Moderate | 29 min · 15 mi |
| Mud Springs E-Bike Trail | 6.4 | 291 ft | Moderate | 14 min · 7 mi |
| Indian Route 254 | 4.1 | 681 ft | Moderate | 20 min · 9 mi |
| Blue Jay Trail | 4.2 | 619 ft | Moderate | 41 min · 22 mi |
Lakes: Morrison Trail to Mud Reservoir; Box Canyon Trail to Slate Reservoir; Little Bean Canyon Trail to Beaver Point Number Six Reservoir; Chicken Creek Trail to Chicken Lake
Viewpoints: Point Lookout Trail to Point Lookout; Long House Loop to Kodak House Overlook
Rock formations: East Rock Creek Trail to East Rock Creek Canyon Arch
Springs: Box Canyon Trail to Gray Beal Spring; Little Bean Canyon Trail to Rush Spring
Nearby towns: Durango (39 mi) · Farmington (46 mi)
All Colorado trail guides · Hiking by city · Dispersed camping rules