Galloping Goose Trail-Telluride to South Fork Road

At the Telluride end, the 21 mile Galloping Goose Trail connects with the Telluride Bike Trail, a paved bike trail that runs from in town out to the west along the San Miguel River.

I started my hike at the Junction of Highway 145 and the road into Telluride Town. This is also the starting point for the Valley Floor River Trail.The Goose Trail loses the pavement and becomes a narrow single track that continues west down stream for a ways, then turns upstream at the junction with the South Fork, the snow melt water coming down from Sunshine Mountain and Wilson Peak.

There are three of the seven original Geese preserved and on display in the area. One is in Telluride and another in Dolores. There is a small museum associated with the Goose in Dolores. The third Goose is privately owned and can be sighted along Highway 491 about a mile north of Dove Creek, Colorado between Cortez, CO and Monticello, Utah.

(In the spring of 2012 I noticed that a Galloping Goose was visible along the highway in Ridgeway, Colorado. Beginning in 2008, there has been an effort to restore Goose No. 4 with the work done in Ridgeway. The plan is to return it to Telluride.)


The first part of this segment follows the rushing river downstream and is very scenic. This bridge appears to connect to a scenic overlook high above on Highway 145.

The forest here is aspen and spruce and the river bottom area has quite a few of the Colorado state tree, the Blue Spruce. I walked the trail for about 1:15 until I came to a junction with the South Fork Road that runs along the river. To continue you have to follow a side road north for a short distance to Ilium and then get on Sunshine Road to continue south.

The route segment from the Telluride Bike Trail to Ilium is about 3.0 miles. About 3.0 miles south along Sunshine Road there will be a trail head on the left that follows an obvious section of old rail bed. The segment from Sunshine Road toward Ames is very scenic.

The San Miguel is one of the few rivers feeding the Colorado River that doesn't have a dam on it, so the river bottom area is still in a very natural state here. There are a few ranches and private homes in the valley.

As this trail is very convenient for those living or visiting Telluride, it gets a fair amount of mountain bike traffic. I was about the only hiker and I was startled several times as the speedy bikers came flying down the trail around the blind curves, causing me to dive to the side, but with a smile on my face.