Rattlesnake Gulch Trail
Activity: HikeDifficulty: Moderate
Distance: 3.6 miles
Location: Eldorado Canyon State Park
Description:
We chose the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail because the lollypop configuration. Continue driving past the Pool and Springs to get to the park entrance. An $8 day fee gets you into the park. From the main parking lot hike the road along the canyon and South Boulder Creek. You can see many rock climbers on the canyon walls. Just when you think you missed the trail you will get to more parking, it will be full unless you are a very early bird. The hike on the road will only add about a mile to your total hiking for the day.
The begining of the trail is shared with the Fowler trail. Follow the sign for the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail when you get to the intersection. A moderate uphill hike takes you to views of the canyon. There is a beautiful, new bridge to cross and continue with the uphill hiking. Our 3 year old hiked about 1.5 miles [from the car] before asking to go into the carrier.
When you reach the Craigs Hotel ruins the .8 mile loop of the lollypop begins. You can choose left and hike up a strenuous section of the trail. Or you can choose right and hike towards the Continental Divide overlook. We hiked left and overall it seems like "what goes up must come down" works vice versa on a mountain loop hike. You'll be going up to the top of the trail, nearly parallel to the railroad tracks, and then back down again either way you go. We took a short side trail that was well worn but not on any official maps to a view that was well worth it. And it was what I would call our "summit" for the day. The hike between the Continental Divide overlook and the Craigs Hotel was fairly easy. If you didn't want to do the entire loop, just choose to go right. The overlook had several occupied benches but we were ready for lunch so we didn't stop for long.
There is a nice bench near the Craigs Hotel sign where we ate our lunch. It was a quick walk over to the hotel ruins, less than 100 yards from the sign. From Craigs Hotel it is pretty much all down hill to the parking lot. We did stop at the bridge going over South Boulder Creek for the benefit of the kids enjoyment.
