Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · Colorado

Rainbow Lake

9.5 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 9449 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 38.6398, -107.1850 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Coal Mesa #451 the Forest Service's write-up

season June to

The Coal Mesa Trail #451 begins at the Soap Creek Campground and ends at the intersections with the Rainbow Lake Trail #449. This trail is in the West Elk Wilderness for most of its length and Wilderness Regulations apply. There is a bridge across Soap Creek and the trail enters the Wilderness about half a mile from the trailhead. After about 1.5 miles, the trail intersects with the Cow Creek Trail #453, the Coal Mesa Trail forks to the right and follows Coal Creek. This trail will intersect with the Cow Creek Trail again before it climbs to a ridge that it follows for a distance offering excellent views. The trail gains 3,889 feet in elevation from the trailhead to Bonfisk Peak which is at 11,629 feet. It then drops 1,829 feet to the West Elk Creek. Eventually it intersects the Coal Creek Trail #452 before ending at the Rainbow Lake Trail. Trail Map

Restrictions Open to Hiking and Horseback.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests

All 762 trails in Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.