White River National Forest · Colorado

Two Elk

9.9 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 2005 · trail class 3 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 39.6005, -106.2698 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Bowman's Shortcut TH #1851 the Forest Service's write-up

The Bowman's Shortcut trail begins at Lime Creek Road #728 near Vail Pass and ends at Two Elk Trail #2005: The trail starts level then climbs gently up to views of the Gore Range and Ten Mile Range. Emerge from woods to a large open meadow where the faint trail is followed to the intersection with the Two Elk Trail. Take time to enjoy the views here before returning.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Two Elk TH #2005 the Forest Service's write-up

The Two Elk trail starts and/or ends at Forest Road 762 near Minturn and the Vail Pass / Tenmile Canyon National Recreation Trail in East Vail. This trail is popular as a one-way "shuttle hike" where people will leave a car at one end and drive a second car to their trailhead.

From the east end, it travels through the cool shady Timber Creek Canyon, climbs a steep section to the Two Elk Pass summit with views of the Gore Range, Sawatch Range, and Vail's Back Bowls, and descends slowly through meadows and the valley between Vail’s Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin Bowls finally emerging from the last section of cool aspen-pine forest to the west trailhead.

Restrictions The portion of Two Elk Trail that travels through Vail's Back Bowls is closed annually from May 6 - July 30. Please observe these closures out of respect for resource protection and wildlife calving, feeding, and migration needs.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in White River National Forest

All 729 trails in White River National ForestFind 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.