Engineer Mountain Trails

Engineer Mountain is one of the most scenic peaks in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. The easiest access is the Pass Creek Trail near the Coal Bank Pass, about 35 miles north of Durango on Highway 550. The trailhead is along a short road on the west side, a very short distance north of the Coal Bank Pass rest area.

The starting elevation at Coal Bank Pass is about 10,660 feet and it is 2.5 miles and about 1000 feet of elevation gain to a trail junction with the Engineer Mountain Trail. The lower part of the trail climbs through spruce and fir forest and there is a small lake about 1 mile along the way. The trail emerges from the forest into meadow areas with the first view of the pyramid shaped Engineer Mountain at 12,613 feet.

At the trail junction, there are also views of the peaks toward the north. Some of these are Jura Knob, Rolling Mountain and the Twin Sisters. It took me 1:20 hours to get to the trail junction.

From here I could see a couple of climbers going up the left side and ready to start the actual climbing. For more hiking there is a choice of heading south for several miles on the Engineer Mountain Trail, or north toward the Coal Creek and Deer Creek Trails. I continued north and after about 1 mile, the Coal and Deer Creek Trail splits off to the right. After another 0.4 miles, the Coal Creek Trail splits from the Deer Creek trail and begins to descend back toward highway 550, 2.8 miles away.

It took me 2:10 hours to get to this decision point. The advantage of continuing is a loop hike with new territory to see. The disadvantage is a 1.3 mile segment along Highway 550 to get back to the Pass Creek Trailhead. The distance is about 4 miles either way.

I continued down the Coal Creek Trail, with more good views of Engineer Mountain and the mountains to the north and east. The meadows in this area weren’t as lush with wildflowers as I was expecting, even though mid August should be a prime time. The elevation change descending along the Coal Creek Trail is about 1600 feet, more than the Pass Creek Trail.

The trail reenters the forest and I was surprised to pass through a thick grove of what I think are Lodgepole Pines. They have short needles in bundles of two, similar to the canyon area Pinyon Pines but are much taller. I hadn’t noticed Lodgepole Pines on the regional trails before, though they surely are common.

The Coal Creek Trail makes a very inconspicuous junction with Highway 550. There is a trail sign but you wouldn’t notice it driving past, even if you were looking for it. While there were many hikers on the Pass Creek Trail, I didn’t see anyone on the Coal Creek Trail. The loop hike was enjoyable, but it doesn’t look like very many take that option.

There is a parking area on the east side of the highway about 200 yards south of the trailhead. Hiking along Highway 550 makes one appreciate the clean air in the high mountains. There was mostly enough room to hike along the road except for two stretches where guard rail forced me to cross and walk with my back to traffic. My total hike took 4:00 hours for about 8 miles. The temperature was about 62 F degrees at 10:10 AM when I started and 73 F degrees at 2:10 PM when I finished. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a clear blue sky mid August day.

The Coal Bank Pass rest area has several interpretive signs and a view point. One of the signs discusses how snow avalanches can reach 100 miles per hour and there are 100 avalanche routes along Highway 550, more than any major road in the country. Coal Bank Pass is the second highest on the San Juan Skyway, with only Red Mountain Pass higher.