Calico Winter Trail Short Loop

The Calico Winter Trail begins at the Calico Trailhead, a short distance south of the Meadows area of the Lizard Head Wilderness in southwest Colorado. Eagle Creek Road, Forest Road 471, makes a junction with the Dunton Road, Forest Road 535, and leads south to the trailhead area.

The main Calico Trail leads south and climbs to some spectacular views of the Lizard Head area mountains. The Winter Trail leads southwest and stays relatively level. There is a short loop option that doesn’t seem to appear on all the maps. The starting elevation here is about 10,200 feet.

The first mile of trail follows along a wide meadow area. At one point there is a good view of the Colorado 14ers Mt. Wilson and El Diente to the north across a rich wildflower meadow. The Winter Trail is overshadowed in this immediate area by the Navajo Lake Trail, but wildflower enthusiasts might want to at least visit this first mile of trail.

The trail continues across more meadow and the Lizard Head formation comes into view. At this oversized rock cairn there is an easy crossing of Morrison Creek.

After the creek crossing, the creek drops into a rocky canyon and the trail enters deep spruce forest with only one spot where there is a view, toward Dolores Peak.

After about 2 miles of hiking, there is a trail junction with a sign saying that Eagle Creek Road is 0.25 miles away. I chose to follow this short cut back to the road where it is 1.75 miles back to the trailhead. The trail junction with the forest road is well marked with a sign so a hike of the more distant loop could start along the road.

The Winter Trail continues on through the forest and there are several loop options possible in this area using the Calico Trail and Fall Creek Trail and the Eagle Peak forest road. My total hike took 1:40 hours for about 4 miles. It was about 65 F degrees in early August while I hiked and I carried 2 liters of water.