Colorado trails · Rawah Trail
Rawah Trail
A 12.7-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 2,899 ft of climbing, topping out at 11,252 ft. Reaches Grassy Pass and other lake/pass destinations. Managed by USFS Canyon Lakes Ranger District.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 52% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 4.2. It gives back about 1,760 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Grassy Pass (pass)
- Rawah Lake Number 2 (lake)
- Rawah Lake Number 1 (lake)
Getting there
Rawah Trailhead — parking nearby, restroom. About 2 h 21 min drive (76 mi, 12 of them unpaved) from Fort Collins. 40.74398, -105.87588 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:45 a.m., the sun rises at 7:13 a.m. and sets at 6:24 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:52 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 12 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 25.3-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 16 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- West Branch Trail + Rawah Trail + Sandbar Lakes Trail — 17.2 mi loop, 2,301 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Tonahutu Creek-Flattop Junction Trail — 29.3 mi
- Top of The World Trail — 29.3 mi