Leave No Trace
Overview
|
Wilderness |
Comanche Peak 4.7 miles (to RMNP Boundary) 7,892 8,957 1,301/256/+1,045 Hikers – Moderate; Stock Riders – Challenging Wilderness & Travel Zone #101 Cache La Poudre Big Thompson and #200 RMNP Glen Haven, Estes Park |
Location
From the Dam Store at the mouth of the Big Thompson Canyon, drive up US-34 for 7.7 miles to Drake. Turn right on Devils Gulch Road (CR-43). After driving 6.1 miles, take a right on a gravel road that crosses a bridge over the north fork of the Big Thompson River. This is Dunraven Glade Road (CR-51B). Continue on it for 2.2 miles to the parking area. The trailhead will be on your left. Facilities and trailer parking are available at the parking area. No water.
| GPS Coordinates Trailhead Wilderness boundary |
N40°28.542’ W105°27.630’ Map N40°28.957’ W105°28.605’ |
Description
The North Fork Trail drops into the North Fork Canyon from the southwest side of the parking lot and follows the creek upstream. After hiking 1 mile you will leave the Wilderness and Travel Zone and enter private land for some 0.3 mile. Stay on the trail during this stretch. You will pass through the Cheley Camp, a summer and fall camp for kids from 9 to 17 years of age. Shortly after reentering the Wilderness and the North Fork Travel Zone and before crossing a bridge from right to left, a numbered marker indicates the first designated campsite, which is located several hundred feet uphill. After crossing the bridge but just before crossing another bridge, a second campsite is indicated on the left. A third can be found after crossing the river, turning right through a meadow, then backtracking downstream for several hundred yards, high on the north side of the river. Continue on the main trail past the remains of the Mateland family line shack. Although no visible signs remain, this was also the location of a resort camp called Deserted Village, built of stick architecture in the 1890s by Fred Sprague. In 1913, the Mateland family bought the land from Sprague and ran cattle and sheep on the property. The demise of Deserted Village is left to your speculation. Five more campsites are located about 100 yards uphill along and to the north of the trail. Some of these sites can be difficult to find without a GPS unit. As the trail begins to leave the river and wind uphill towards the border of RMNP, another site can be found on the left. You can cover the main trail easily on a day hike, but the additional scouting of campsites and/or the additional 1.5 miles to RMNP can be executed more easily from an overnight base at one of the designated campsites. Horses and backpackers heading into RMNP use this trail heavily. Make sure you are camping in the designated Travel Zone campsites, and are using fuel-burning stoves only.
| Designated Campsite | Elevation | Distance from trail | ||
| Campsite 1 Campsite 2 Campsite 3 Campsite 4 Campsite 5 Campsite 6 Campsite 7 Campsite 8 Campsite 9 |
N40°29.156’ N40°29.215’ N40°29.254’ N40°29.320’ N40°29.383’ N40°29.357’ N40°29.426’ N40°29.355’ N40°29.419’ |
W105°29.115’ W105°29.711’ W105°29.427’ W105°29.823’ W105°29.928’ W105°29.927’ W105°29.970’ W105°30.015’ W105°30.283’ |
8215ft. 8252ft. 8233ft. 8330ft. 8397ft. 8356ft. 8428ft. 8345ft. 8375ft. |
0.09 mi. 0.07 mi. 0.26 mi. 0.05 mi. 0.18 mi. 0.05 mi. 0.10 mi. 0.04 mi. 0.07 mi. |
