Trails · Poudre Canyon
Lookout Mountain Trail
A long dirt climb through the Canyon Lakes high country to a rocky lookout, with a short spur to the summit itself.
Toggle Terrain / USGS Topo / Satellite / Street (top-right) · route © COTREX/CPW · tap a marker for waypoints
Lookout Mountain is a long, honest grind of a trail — a dirt singletrack that leaves the lower forest at its east end and climbs steadily west across the Canyon Lakes high country. COTREX marks the main line as true multi-use: hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders and motorcycles all share it (no ATVs), so this isn't a quiet backcountry footpath — it's a working forest trail where you'll want to keep an ear out for dirt bikes and step aside on the blind corners. It's stitched here from the two Forest Service segments that carry the Lookout Mountain name, running roughly five and a half miles one-way from the lower trailhead up toward the ridge.
About two miles in, a short spur — the 0.4-mile Lookout Mountain Summit Trail — peels off and climbs to the high point, and unlike the main trail it's closed to motorcycles, so the last push to the top is left to boots, hooves and tires. Up here the country opens into the kind of long views the name promises. This is Canyon Lakes Ranger District land and the trail sees seasonal weather and closures, so check current conditions, access and parking with the ranger district before you load up — and treat the mileage and surface here as your planning baseline, not a substitute for the map.
Trail Facts
Length
5.6 mi one-way
Elevation
8,660 → 10,590 ft
Elevation Gain
+2,360 ft
Type
Trail
Uses
Hike · Bike · Horse · Motorcycle
Bikes
Allowed
Stock / Horse
Allowed
Dogs
Allowed
Surface
Dirt
Manager
USFS Canyon Lakes Ranger District
Getting There
In the Canyon Lakes Ranger District high country south of the Poudre Canyon (CO-14). The lower, east end is the usual access point; this is a motorized-legal singletrack, so confirm the exact trailhead, road access and any seasonal gate closures on the map and with the ranger district before you go.
| 0.0 mi | Lower (east) trailhead — access end |
| 2.2 mi | Lookout Mountain Summit Trail spur — 0.4 mi to the summit (no motorcycles) |
| 5.6 mi | Upper (west) end of the trail |
Know Before You Go
- Multi-use and motorized. COTREX marks the main trail open to hikers, bikes, horses and motorcycles (no ATVs) — expect to share it and to step aside for dirt bikes.
- Summit spur. A short 0.4-mile Lookout Mountain Summit Trail branches off near mile 2.2 to reach the high point; it's open to foot, horse and bike travel but closed to motorcycles.
- Part of the network. This is one thread of the Canyon Lakes Ranger District trail system in the Poudre high country, dirt-surfaced end to end.
- Check current conditions. Confirm access, seasonal closures and trailhead parking with the Canyon Lakes Ranger District before heading out.
Take the Trail With You
Load the route onto your phone's GPS app, or print the details for the glovebox.
Coming soon — the Red Feather Lakes Trail App: offline maps and live GPS for every local trail, right in your pocket.
Built by Many Hands — Give a Little Back
Love this guide? Wear it. Every hat, tee, and cozy layer in our Red Feather Lakes collection helps us keep mapping trails and keeping this guide free — mountain apparel designed right here in the high country, with more trail gear on the way.
Shop the Collection →These trails don't tend themselves either. Every mile is watched over by volunteers and public stewards we lean on to bring you this guide — if you love these mountains, please pitch in for them too:
- Poudre Wilderness Volunteers — trail patrols & the official trail description Donate →
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife / COTREX — the mapped trail route & statewide trail data Donate →
- Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest (USFS) — the public land itself Support →
- OpenStreetMap contributors — the Street basemap Donate →
- Google & USGS — trailhead location, ratings & topographic maps
Trail details compiled by the Red Feather Lakes Travel Guide from the sources above. Photography by us — more of our own trail images coming as we hike them.