Lower Dadd Gulch Trail

Right off the lower Poudre Canyon, where CO-14 hugs the river east of Indian Meadows, a small parking lot signed Dadd Gulch drops you onto an old jeep track that leans southwest up a narrow, welcoming draw. This is easy country to love: the trail is well-worn and simple to follow, an intermittent spring-fed creek threads down the gulch, and in spring and early summer you'll cross it back and forth some eighteen times while wildflowers crowd the banks and open the meadows. It's a working landscape too — cattle often graze near the trailhead, so be sure to swing the cattle-pen gate shut behind you.

Around mile two the path tips uphill in earnest, pulling away from the water past a few handsome rock outcrops before easing into an aspen-fringed meadow with a stock tank that sometimes holds water. From there it climbs to a ridge crest and the long views that make the effort worth it. The last third of a mile carries the scars of the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire on both sides — the burned, downed timber actually opens up some of the best sightlines — and the trail finishes a few hundred yards past an old sign where it meets the Dadd Gulch / Salt Cabin Park Road. Two honest cautions: the creek is often bone-dry, so pack all your water, and mountain bikes are common here (folks sometimes build jumps), so keep an ear out and step aside on the blind bends.

Trail Facts

Getting There

From Ted's Place, drive 29 miles up CO-14 into the lower Poudre Canyon to about mile marker 93.2. Just before the highway crosses a bridge over the Poudre River east of Indian Meadows Resort, watch for a parking lot on the south (left) side, signed Dadd Gulch. Parking is limited and there's no turn-around, so a small stock trailer fits but larger rigs should use the trailer parking with a turn-around across Hwy. 14. Don't block the cattle-pen gate in the southwest corner — that's the stock access — and close it behind you, as cattle often graze here. Seasonal toilets sit across the highway from the lot.

Know Before You Go

• Carry all your water. The creek down the lower two-plus miles is often dry — treat it as a no-water trail and pack what you'll need.
• Bikes share this trail. Mountain bikes are common and riders sometimes build jumps or ramps; stay alert on blind corners. E-bikes and all motorized use are prohibited.
• Burn country up high. The upper 0.3 mile shows Cameron Peak Fire (2020) damage — watch for falling trees and washouts after rain, even though the openings give great views.
• Creek crossings. In spring and early summer the intermittent creek braids across the trail about 18 times — expect wet feet and slick rock at higher flows.
• Dogs under voice control at all times; keep them close on this bike-and-cattle trail.
• Stock feed rules. Horses must be fed only pellets or certified weed-free hay throughout the trip; close the cattle-pen gate at the trailhead behind you.
• Winter access. The trail is usually reachable year-round — the parking lot clears with sun — but bring traction devices, and snowshoes are often needed up top; it rarely holds good ski snow.