White River National Forest · Colorado
Papoose Creek
5.1 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 2248 · trail class 3 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse
Begins at the forest's mile 0, 40.0262, -107.5037 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins
Papoose Creek #2248 the Forest Service's write-up
Papoose Creek Trail #2248 begins to the left of the entrance to Ute Lodge. The trail follows Papoose Creek for 2 miles through lodgepole pine and aspen. Shortly before breaking out into Papoose Basin, it climbs to a rocky point where Papoose Creek cascades down several short waterfalls 100' below. As the trail enters Papoose Basin, it passes through aspen groves with large grassy meadows between stands. The trail gradually turns to the west and climbs a series of switchbacks out of Papoose Basin onto Nimerick Point, the westernmost promontory of the Flat Tops Plateau. On the plateau, the trail follows a long, narrow park .75 miles to its junction with the Oyster Lake Trail #1825 .
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.
