Colorado trails · Cross Creek Trail

Cross Creek Trail

A 14.2-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 3,378 ft of climbing, topping out at 11,836 ft. Reaches Treasure Vault Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by USFS Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District.

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Length

14.2 mi

Elevation gain

3,378 ft

Highest point

11,836 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

33%

Steepest mile

+695 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

3.6 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Surface

dirt

Dogs

yes

Bikes

Horses

yes

Managed by

USFS Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Treasure Vault Lake (lake)
Harvey Lake (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Cross Creek Trailhead — parking nearby. About 21 min drive (12 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Avon. 39.54875, -106.41839 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:47 a.m., the sun rises at 7:14 a.m. and sets at 6:28 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:55 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 14 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 28.4-mile round trip works out to roughly 13 h 53 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.