Colorado trails · Middle Fork Trail
Middle Fork Trail
A 10.9-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 3,773 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,173 ft. Reaches Palomino Mountain and other lake/summit destinations. Managed by USFS Pagosa Ranger District.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 51% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 3.6.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Palomino Mountain (summit)
- Monument Lake (lake)
- Window Lake (lake)
Getting there
Middle Fork Trailhead — parking nearby. About 2 h 16 min drive (79 mi, 17 of them unpaved) from Durango. 37.51230, -107.14775 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:49 a.m., the sun rises at 7:15 a.m. and sets at 6:33 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:59 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 21.9-mile round trip works out to roughly 11 h 52 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Matterhorn Trail + Middle Fork Trail + East Fork Trail — 10.0 mi loop, 1,216 ft gain
Nearby trails
- West Fork Trail — 13.1 mi
- Ivy Creek Trail — 14.2 mi
- Fern Creek Trail — 15.7 mi
- Ute Creek Trail — 20.1 mi