White River National Forest · Colorado
Ironedge
6.2 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1873 · trail class 3 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 24-36 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike
Begins at the forest's mile 0, 39.4640, -106.6078 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins
Ironedge TH #1873 the Forest Service's write-up
The Ironedge Trail begins near the Fulford Cave Campground and ends at the Lake Charles Trail #1899 near Lake Charles. The trail becomes steep in places with switchbacks and follows an old logging road for a short distance. Be sure to look for rock cairns marking the trail. It will pass the Peter Estin Hut and Charles Peak before the trail opens up at tree line. Spectacular views of Castle Peak, the Flat Tops, and the Elk Range are seen along the way. Follow the cairns as the trail skirts around a hill and then begins to descend 2 1/2 miles to Lake Charles, through meadow, forest and rocky areas.
This hike on fs.usda.gov
Every trail in White River National Forest
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.
