Bilk Creek Falls Loop Trail

The Bilk Creek Falls Loop Trail uses segments of the Lizard Head Trail and the Wilson Mesa Trail and an old mining road on the northern edge of the Lizard Head Wilderness near Telluride in southwest Colorado. The trail head is at the south end of Sunshine Mesa Road.

Sunshine Mesa Road connects to the South Fork of the San Miguel Road and starts out straight, wide and smooth as it climbs. This lower road segment is a part of the Galloping Goose Trail that runs about 21 miles north from Lizard Head Pass and connects to the Telluride Valley Floor Bike Trail. After the point where the Galloping Goose Trail branches off and becomes a single track trail, the Sunshine Mesa Road becomes narrow, rough and twisty with a few mud holes before arriving at the trail head.

The signs at the trail head say Wilson Mesa Trail and 2 miles to the Lizard Head Trail and Bilk Creek, though practically speaking this is the trail head for the Lizard Head Trail also. The trail head elevation is about 9760 feet. About 0.8 miles along this wide and smooth segment, the Wilson Mesa Trail turns west and the old mining road continues south. I continued south on the old mining road as it is the shorter route to the Bilk Creek Falls, but a hiker can choose either route.

The old mining road stays on the east side of Bilk Creek and is mostly in deep Engelmann Spruce and Aspen forest with a few views to the flanks of Wilson Peak. Just before the mining site the trail crosses Bilk Creek. When I hiked there was a hiker arranged log and plank bridge to aid the crossing.

The mining ruins site is notable in that somehow a large red tractor trailer had been pulled in there. Quite a bit of old hardware is inside the trailer and scattered around the site. About 0.5 miles past the mining ruins site, the Bilk Creek Falls start to come into view.

The falls is a series of falls and cascades. The forest is thick and the falls has carved a steep rocky chute I didn’t see an easy way to get close for a good view. The trail switch backs up the slope and there are higher views but no close ones.

I climbed the trail until I was near the same elevation as the top of the falls, about 10,400 feet. The trail continues up into Bilk Basin and then continues on toward the base of Lizard Head Peak. I hiked for 1:50 hours before turning around.

On the return hike I took the longer Lizard Head Trail segment to complete the loop. The trail junction is at the old mining site and the Lizard Head route is clearly marked. If you took this longer route first the old mining road on the other side of the creek might not be noticed and there isn’t a sign pointing it out.

The Lizard Head part of the loop stays on the west side of Bilk Creek for about 2 miles and passes through meadow areas offering some views to the north. There is another small falls a short distance below the main falls. The Lizard Head Trail officially ends at a trail junction with the Wilson Mesa Trail and it is another 3 miles back to the Sunshine Mesa Trail Head, climbing through forest back to the old mining road.

The return crosses a level section of Bilk Creek over a foot bridge that is falling into disrepair but is still useable (but missing by 2011). There might be some beaver ponds along this section of Bilk Creek. My total hike took 4:30 hours for about 9 miles using the loop route. The minimum hike to see the Bilk Creek Falls would be about 5 miles. It was about 60 F degrees at the trail head at 10:00 AM on an early August partly cloudy day. I carried 3 liters of water but only drank 2.

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.

Lizard Head Trail to Wilson Meadows

The Lizard Head Trail crosses through the eastern part of the mountainous Lizard Head Wilderness Area in southwest Colorado south of Telluride along Highway 145.

From the trail head at Lizard Head Pass, at 10,250 feet, the route starts north, cuts west behind Black Face Mountain and then north again. About 1.5 miles along the trail, a side trail descends into a basin area called Wilson Meadows. It is about a 6 mile round trip to visit this scenic spot.

The Wilson Meadows Trail runs more or less parallel with the Lizard head Trail. In late June there was still too much snow in the spruce forest to follow the Lizard head Trail to its junction with the Cross Mountain Trail and make a loop hike. The Lizard Head Peak is 13,113 feet.

The first mile of the Lizard Head Trail heads north to a point that overlooks Trout Lake through the aspen, spruce and fir forest. The trail then has several switchbacks giving higher and better views. There are several scree slopes on the west side of the trail. The road that runs along the north side of Trout Lake is part of the Galloping Goose Trail, a 21 mile route from Lizard Head Pass to Telluride that follows the old railroad grade.

At about the 2 mile point there is a trail sign pointing left and down and unlikely clay hill. From above it doesn’t appear that the trail could possibly go this way, but it does. This is about 20 minutes of hiking before arriving at Wilson Meadows. I’ve followed what appears to be the more likely trail straight ahead and it leads to a sloping meadow area that is scenic but not as good as Wilson Meadows.

Wilson Meadows receives snowmelt from many directions and is soggy in the bottoms area, and rich with wildflowers. The area is a basin surrounded by peaks on all sides. The peaks to the immediate northwest of Lizards Head aren’t named on the map I had but are about 12,000 to 13,000 feet high. Wilsons Creek drains the meadows, flowing to the north.

This might be San Bernardo Mountain on the north side at 11,861 feet. It took me about 2:00 hours to arrive at Wilson Meadows where I lingered for about 1:00 hour.

My return hike took 1:30 hours for a total hike of 4:30 hours. I carried two liters of water on a June day that was about 55 F when I started at 9:00 AM and 68 F at 1:30 PM. It was a clear day with some wind gusts in the exposed spots.