Columbine Complex Trail

The Columbine Complex isn't one trail so much as a little neighborhood of them — the Columbine, Columbine Ridge, Columbine Ridge Loop, and North Loop — braided together across open ponderosa pine country a few ridges north of Dowdy Lake. It's easy, nearly flat walking through sun-warmed meadows and groves of quaking aspen, with the occasional Rocky Mountain juniper and Douglas-fir for shade and a rock outcrop here and there to steer by. Much of it follows old roadbeds — wide and friendly underfoot — while other stretches thin to single-track that all but disappears where it crosses the grass. There's no roadside trailhead here; you reach the complex on foot, either off the Mt. Margaret Trail or up from the Dowdy Lake day-use area by way of the Frog Pond Trail.

The catch on these trails is finding them. North of the old road back to Dowdy Lake (Point 5), a tangle of social paths splits off the real route, and folks have laid tree limbs across some of the false ones to help you read the way — when in doubt, favor the main track and check the GPS points below at each rock outcrop and Y. You'll pass barbed-wire fences with private land just beyond, so stay on the trail and don't climb through. Cattle range this country in spring and summer, and it runs hot and dry — there's just one intermittent crossing on the lower Columbine, so carry all the water you'll want. Bikes are welcome (e-bikes and motors are not), and in a snowy winter the gentle grade makes lovely skiing or snowshoeing, if you don't mind the trail hiding under the drifts.

Trail Facts

Getting There

There's no direct trailhead — reach the Columbine Complex on foot two ways. Via the Mt. Margaret Trail: follow it from the Mt. Margaret trailhead, and the Columbine Trail intersects it about 2.5 miles in. Or via the Frog Pond Trail from the Dowdy Lake Day Use Area (which charges a fee year-round): hike 1.3 miles on the Frog Pond Trail, go north 0.1 mile on the Mt. Margaret Trail, and the Columbine Trail branches off on your left, to the west.

Know Before You Go

• Route-finding is the real work. Numerous social trails split off the main track — especially north of the Dowdy Lake road junction (Point 5) — and downed limbs are sometimes laid across the false ones; favor the obvious track and check the GPS points at each rock outcrop and Y.
• Private land borders the trail. Several barbed-wire fences edge private property — don't cross them, stay on the trail, and if you camp, pick a Leave No Trace site on National Forest land.
• Cattle graze here. Range cattle move through this country in spring and summer; give them room and leave gates as you find them.
• Carry your own water. These trails are dry — just one intermittent crossing on the lower Columbine — and they get hot in summer, so pack plenty.
• Bikes yes, e-bikes no. Bicycles are allowed; e-bikes and all motorized use are prohibited, and dogs must be under voice control at all times.
• No roadside trailhead. You reach the complex only via the Mt. Margaret Trail or the Frog Pond Trail from the fee-charging Dowdy Lake Day Use Area.
• Winter is walkable. The gentle grade skis and snowshoes well, but snow can bury the tread and make the route hard to follow.