Colorado trails · Cotton Trail
A 12.5-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 3,911 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,516 ft. Reaches Cotton Lake. Managed by USFS Saguache Ranger District.
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,537 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
Cotton Creek Trailhead — parking nearby. 38.13154, -105.78863 · directions
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:04 a.m., the sun rises at 6:31 a.m. and sets at 7:34 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:01 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 03 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 25.1-mile round trip works out to roughly 13 h 12 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.