Picket Wire Canyonlands
8.6 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1871 · trail class 3 · typical grade 5-8% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike
Exhibits
Along the way Rourke Ranch National Historic Site
Begins at the forest's mile 0, 37.6597, -103.5709 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins
Withers Canyon Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up
This is the starting point for the Picket Wire Trail. It descends 250 feet into the Picket Wire Canyonlands and continues 8.5 miles along the Purgatoire River Valley bottom to Rourke Ranch National Historic District .
Not interested in a long hike? Follow the one-mile Withers Loop Trail from the trailhead to the rim of Picket Wire Canyonlands and enjoy some spectacular views!
This is the only public access into Picket Wire Canyonlands. Hiking, non-motorized bicycles, and horseback riding are permitted.
Restrictions Park in designated areas. No shooting. Use existing fire grates.
This trailhead on fs.usda.gov
Every trail in Pike and San Isabel National Forests
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.
