Pike and San Isabel National Forests · Colorado

South Colony

2.2 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1339 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 37.9647, -105.5458 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

South Colony Basin the Forest Service's write-up

South Colony Basin and the surrounding 14,000-foot peaks offer a broad range of recreational opportunities, including camping, hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, fishing and hunting. This diversity of activities, combined with the natural beauty of the basin and the rough but passable access provided by the road, has made South Colony Basin the most popular destination in the Sangre de Cristo Range. Trailhead register data indicate 3,500 to 4,500 persons (7,000 to 9,000 visitor days) visit the small (1500 acre) upper basin at the head of the South Colony drainage during the summer season.

Since 1996, the Forest Service has worked in partnership with Rocky Mountain Field Institute, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Colorado Outward Bound, and other educational and environmental service organizations to reconstruct trails and climbing routes within the basin, stabilize eroding alpine slopes (caused by user-created trails), inventory and restore undesirable campsites and social trails. To date, nearly $1,000,000 (of mostly non-federal funds) and 40,000 volunteer hours have been spent restoring long-term recreational impacts, rebuilding the lower road, constructing trailhead facilities and creating sustainable summit trails in South Colony Basin.

South Colony Basin is located in the Sangre De Cristo Wilderness which was established in 1993 to preserve its quality, character, and integrity. This area is intended to be a place where the imprint of humans is substantially unnoticed; where natural processes are the primary influences, and human activity is limited to primitive recreation and minimum tools. Please follow Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics to ensure that this and future generations experience this special place in its natural condition.

USGS Topo Map

http://store.usgs.gov

Crestone Peak, CO

Beck Mtn, CO

Restrictions <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/specialplaces/?cid=stelprd3795315">Wilderness regulations apply</a>.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Pike and San Isabel National Forests

All 592 trails in Pike and San Isabel 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.