Cross Mountain and Lizard Head Trail to Bilk Basin

The Cross Mountain Trail provides access to the middle part of the Lizard Head Trail in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado.

It is about 3 miles with about 2000 feet elevation gain to reach the trail junction at the base of the iconic Lizard Head peak formation. A right turn heads east toward the Lizard Head Pass. A left turn heads north and descends into the very scenic Bilk Basin.

The Cross Mountain Trail Head is about 2 miles south of the Lizard Head Pass and south of Telluride along Highway 145. The starting elevation is about 10,000 ft. It took me about 2:00 hours of steady climbing to get to the trail junction. For the most part the trail passes through Engelmann Spruce forest, emerging into a tundra like area rich with wildflowers and wide views.

Starting the gradual descent into Bilk Basin I noticed a large herd of elk also heading for the basin across the shoulders of 12,703 ft. Cross Mountain. The herd of about 70 hesitated at the crest of the shoulder, seemingly because of me and another hiker and then turned and went back the way they had come, their plan for the day disrupted despite a seemingly safe distance.

The Bilk Basin is surrounded by high peaks on all sides with several creeks converging along the way and flowing north. The west side peaks include Gladstone Peak at 13, 913 ft. and Wilson Peak at 14,047 ft. Wilson Peak has an old road switch backing up the face that was access for old mines and now is a side trail off the Lizard Head Trail.

The trail descends down and crosses Bilk Creek and climbs the opposite shoulder. Looking back, from the Bilk Basin angle the Lizard Head looks more like a lizard head than the usual views of it. Just after crossing the creek there is a large rock cairn at a vague trail junction on the left and there is another smaller cairn further on. The maps of this area mention a falls and that was my goal.

Looking down the basin there are some signs of development in the distance. There is a trail head for this area ahead on Sunshine Road and some roads and small buildings are visible. In late July the wildflowers in Bilk Basin are very rich, fed by small streams flowing down the mountain sides.

The trail crosses a cascade of water tumbling down through the scree slopes and I stopped here, about 0.5 miles before the more spectacular Bilk Basin Falls. It had taken me 3:30 hours to get here and the trail crossing here looked a little tricky. The crossing is only about 4 feet wide but the water is flowing very fast and may involve a step that gets you wet up to your knee. The elevation at the cascade is about 11,100 feet and it is a climb of about 900 ft. back to the Cross Mountain trail junction.

It may be possible to bypass the cascade crossing and rejoin the trail by picking a route down through the forest and crossing the creek where the slope is more gradual. There seems to be a trail post a few hundred yards before the cascade that may mark an alternate route. The falls below are supposed to have a 300 foot drop.

My return hike took 2:40 hours for a total of 6:40 hours for about 9.6 miles. It was about 55 F degrees at the trail head at 9:00 AM in late July and got windy enough at the base of Lizard Head that I had to add a layer though it was still about the same temperature. It was about 70 F at the trail head at 3:50 PM when I finished. I carried 3 liters of water.

Tomboy Trail

The Tomboy Trail is a popular 4WD road that climbs toward the east along the north side of Telluride Canyon in southwest Colorado.

Five miles along the trail is the Tomboy mining ruins site and further is Imogene Pass and Ouray. The beginning of Tomboy Road is at the north end of Oak Street in Telluride.

I started my hike from the free parking area on the southwest side of Telluride and walked through the town streets a few blocks to Oak Street. There isn’t any parking at the intersection of Tomboy and Oak.

Tomboy Road is also the access for the east end of the Jud Wiebe Trail, a popular 2.7 mile loop that takes about 2 hours to hike. Climbing past the Jud Wiebe Trail Head, there are increasingly higher views toward Bridal Veil Falls and Ingram Falls at the east end of the Telluride Valley.

 The trail is a single lane rocky road with frequent wide spots. The surface is mostly easy to walk on and is steep but not as steep as mountain trails can sometimes be. There were quite a few commercial mountain tours going up the trail and several rented jeeps.

I saw three other hikers and no mountain bikes. The views are mostly open and the Aspen and Spruce forest is not noticed as much as usual. In mid July there are many wildflowers in bloom including some Columbines.

During the first half of the hike, Bridal Veil Falls, on the south side of the valley is frequently in view. The hike to Tomboy rises above the elevation of that also popular destination. There is one spot along Tomboy Road where Bear Creek Falls, Ingram Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls are all in view at the same time.

One interesting feature of this route is the short tunnel cut through the rock. After the tunnel, the trail is more level for about a mile and the main Telluride Valley goes out of sight. About one mile before the main Tomboy mining site, some outlying mining ruins start to appear.

The mining ruins along the Tomboy Road appear to be more devastated than one might expect. Another popular ghost town in the area is Alta, where the old buildings appear to be better preserved. There is an interpretive sign at the Tomboy site that says the town had a school, stores, stable and miner’s cabins. The mines started producing gold ore in 1894 and are 3000 feet higher than Telluride at about 11,800 feet.

The main Tomboy site looks like it was hit by tornados, a large scatter of debris without much standing. The surrounding area though is very scenic. It took me 3:00 hours to arrive at the Tomboy site and a quicker 2:00 hours to descend. With stops, my total hike was 5:30 hours for a little more than 10 miles. It was a mid 60s F day, partly cloudy with a few drops of rain. I carried and drank two liters of water.

Deep Creek Trail and Cornet Falls

The Deep Creek Trail travels for about 13 miles along the north side of the Telluride Valley in southwest Colorado. The east trail connection is along the western loop of the Jud Wiebe Trail. The Deep Creek Trail is part of a large trail system that offers several hiking options.

I started my hike from the free parking area on the southwest end of town and walked a few blocks through the pleasant streets of Telluride to the Jud Wiebe Trail head at the north end of Aspen Street. There doesn't appear to be any parking in the trail head area. At the trail head there is also a short trail leading to the Cornet Falls.

The Jud Wiebe Trail is a popular 2.7 mile loop back to the east. The first 0.8 miles of Jud Wiebe climbs steeply to the west and arrives at the east end connection of the Deep Creek Trail. Another 100 feet along the Deep Creek Trail there is a connection with the east end of the Sneffels Highline Trail that heads further north. It’s good to have a map of this trail system when hiking up here.

The Deep Creek Trail levels out and moves west offering high elevation views of the Telluride Valley. After about a mile it turns away from the valley and loops around the Mill Creek area eventually crossing a small bridge over a roaring plunging stream.

Along the trail there are old pipes and other artifacts from the mining era. High above Mill Creek a large waterfall is visible but the views are obscured by the thick forest. In this area the forest is Aspens, Douglas Firs and Engelmann Spruce.

Past the bridge, there is an access trail connecting to the Mill Creek Road leading back down to the valley floor. After the access trail junction, the trail begins climbing again for 2 miles to the western junction with the Sneffels Highline Trail. The trail signs indicated that the Sneffels loop is 8.2 miles back to the east connection with the Deep Creek Trail.

There are some meadow areas along this segment with great views of the mountains that lie north of the Telluride Valley. Wildflowers are moderately good along the whole length of the hike here.

I got a tip from another hiker that about 10 minutes north on the west connection of the Sneffels Trail there is a large rock outcrop giving great views in several directions. This rock outcrop appears to be a popular local destination. Besides views into Telluride Mountain Village and the mountains beyond, you can see a little into the Sneffels Basin to the north.

From this point the Deep Creek Trail continues west another 5 miles to Last Dollar Road, then another 4 miles or so along Deep Creek. It took me 2:40 hours to get to the rocky view point where I started my return back along the same route.

It took me 2:00 hours to return to the Jud Wiebe Trail Head, the return is mostly downhill. Back at the trail head, I hiked the short trail to the Cornet Falls.

There are two falls here and the higher falls is the most interesting, plunging as a narrow ribbon over the sandstone cliffs. It is possible to get under the falls. My total hike of about 11 miles took 5:30 hours. I carried two liters of water on a 70 F early July day that was partly cloudy with a few drops of scattered rain.