Colorado trails · East Fork Trail
East Fork Trail
A 14.6-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 3,172 ft of climbing, topping out at 11,583 ft. Reaches Round Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by USFS Yampa Ranger District.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,667 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Round Lake (lake)
- Causeway Lake (lake)
- Little Causeway Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Stillwater Trailhead — parking nearby, restroom. 40.02753, -107.12339 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:07 a.m., the sun rises at 6:35 a.m. and sets at 7:41 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:09 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 07 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 29.1-mile round trip works out to roughly 13 h 57 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- East Fork #2172W.1M + East Fork Trail — 2.9 mi loop, 381 ft gain
- Muddy Creek Trail + East Fork Trail + Cayton Gulch Trail — 5.9 mi loop, 1,714 ft gain
- Muddy Creek Trail + East Fork Trail + Cayton Gulch Trail — 6.3 mi loop, 1,278 ft gain
Nearby trails
- East Marvine Trail — 16.0 mi
- Transfer Trail — 22.0 mi