Flowers Trail

Flowers is the long spine of this corner of the Comanche Peak Wilderness — nearly eighteen miles from the gate off Pingree Park Road out to the Poudre at Big South, gathering up the Little Beaver Creek, Browns Lake, Beaver Creek, Zimmerman, and Mirror Lake trails as it goes. The first three miles ease along Old Flowers Road through open meadows and sparse timber, where you'll still share the way with mountain bikers and the odd high-clearance truck. Past the B-17 crash monument at the Wilderness boundary the character changes for good: the road ends, the crowds thin, and you're walking a real backcountry trail toward the wide alpine meadows up high, where the views open and the Continental Divide stacks up on the horizon.

Be honest with yourself about what this trail asks. Nearly all of it burned in the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire — the largest in Colorado history — so long stretches are black timber where the tread fades out and falling trees, stump holes, and rockslides are real hazards, and small rainstorms can send flash floods far downstream. Water is scarce: plan around the crossing above Beaver Park, the Browns Lake junction spring, and a few high snowmelt trickles, and treat all of it. The old stringer bridge over Little Beaver Creek is failing and may be unsafe, and the mile southwest of the Mirror Lake junction is poorly marked — go slow, read the cairns and the cut ends of downed logs, and watch the afternoon sky for lightning up in the open alpine.

Trail Facts

Getting There

From Ted's Place, drive 26.5 miles up CO-14 to Pingree Park Road at mile marker 96.1, cross the Cache la Poudre, and continue 6.3 miles to a gated turn-off on the right (west). Go through the gate onto Forest Road 152 (unmarked) and past the former Jacks Gulch Campground; just before a second gate on the left is an unsigned parking area (formerly Trailhead-1) with room for a few vehicles and stock trailers. If the upper gate is open, a high-clearance 4-wheel-drive vehicle can continue 3.1 miles on Old Flowers Road to Trailhead-2 at the Comanche Peak Wilderness boundary and the B-17 crash monument. In winter, park near — but not blocking — the lower gate and walk or ski about 0.6 mile through the campground to where Flowers Road begins.

Know Before You Go

• Burn country. Nearly the whole trail sits in the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire scar — expect falling trees, hidden stump holes, rockslides, and flash flooding after even light rain, which can strike far downstream.
• Route-finding. In severely burned stretches the tread can vanish; the mile southwest of the Mirror Lake junction is especially poorly marked. Go slow and follow rock cairns and the cut ends of downed logs.
• Failing bridge. The old 2-log stringer bridge over Little Beaver Creek at the north end of Beaver Park is falling apart — crossing can be difficult, wet, or unsafe in high flows.
• Water is scarce. Reliable sources are limited — the crossing above Beaver Park (~5 mi), the Browns Lake junction spring (~10.4 mi), high snowmelt trickles, and the stream and Poudre near the end. Carry plenty and treat everything.
• Wilderness rules. No bikes, no motorized use, and no wheeled conveyances past Trailhead-2; group size is capped at 12 people and stock combined inside the Comanche Peak Wilderness.
• Dogs. Voice control is allowed to Trailhead-2; beyond that, in the Wilderness and Travel Zone, dogs must be on a hand-held leash with hikers.
• Lightning. Long miles run through open alpine meadow — be up and moving early and off the exposed high ground before afternoon storms build.