Colorado trails · Dry Creek Trail
Dry Creek Trail
A 15.3-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 2,980 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,263 ft. Reaches Marble Mountain and other pass/summit/viewpoint destinations. Managed by USFS Divide Ranger District.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 56% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 5.1. It gives back about 2,760 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Marble Mountain (summit)
- Blowout Pass (pass)
- Blowout Pass (viewpoint)
Getting there
Dry Creek Trail access. About 1 h 44 min drive (54 mi, 12 of them unpaved) from Alamosa. 37.45333, -106.54921 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:46 a.m., the sun rises at 7:13 a.m. and sets at 6:30 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:56 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 30.6-mile round trip works out to roughly 14 h 20 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Dry Creek Basin Road + Dry Creek Trail + Dry Creek Road — 4.7 mi loop, 589 ft gain
- Dry Creek Basin Road + Dry Creek Trail + Dry Creek Road — 9.6 mi loop, 1,418 ft gain
- Dry Creek Trail + Dry Creek Road + Ewok Village Trail — 4.7 mi loop, 584 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Continental Divide Trail — 6.2 mi
- West Fork Trail — 20.3 mi
- La Garita Stock Driveway Trail — 28.1 mi
- Ivy Creek Trail — 29.3 mi