Mount McConnel Trail

Two trails share this hillside above Mountain Park, and the smart way to hike them is as one loop. You start on the Kreutzer Nature Trail — a gentle, interpretive-sign-dotted grade that switchbacks up out of the day-use lot and contours west above the campground, close enough to hear the Poudre working through the canyon below. At the high point of Kreutzer the Mt. McConnel Trail branches off and the outing changes character: you turn uphill past CCC-built rock walls and benches, switchback around a boulder field and talus slope, and cross into the Cache La Poudre Wilderness — the smallest in Colorado, and the only wilderness the Mt. McConnel Trail touches. A short, easy-to-miss spur (watch for the little cairn) leads out to the 7,998-foot summit, where the canyon opens below you and the Mummy Range rides the far horizon.

How you come down is a decision you make at the summit junction. Retrace the well-worn western arm and it stays moderate the whole way. Drop onto the ‘primitive’ eastern arm and it gets serious — steep, rough, faintly cairned, with side-slopes and sheer drop-offs that will test anyone uneasy with heights, before it rejoins Kreutzer for the gentle contour back to the river bridge. Either way, come prepared: this is a dry, mostly shadeless slope scarred by the 2012 High Park Fire, poison ivy grows along the lower trail, and the only reliable-ish water is an intermittent creek at the eastern junction. Carry more water than you think you’ll need, and save the primitive arm for a dry day when you can see the cairns.

Trail Facts

Getting There

From Ted’s Place, drive 23.5 miles up CO-14 into the lower Poudre Canyon. Just past mile marker 99, take the turnoff for Mountain Park Campground, cross the bridge over the Poudre River, and immediately turn right into the day-use parking area. This is a fee area — parking in the picnic lot requires paying the fee. A sign at the lot calls itself the trailhead, but the trail actually begins about 100 yards uphill to the southeast, just across the upper campground road, where a second trailhead sign, an area map, and trail information are posted.

Know Before You Go

• The eastern arm is ‘primitive.’ The east side of the Mt. McConnel Trail is very steep, rough, and lightly used, with side-slopes and sheer drop-offs — not for anyone uneasy with heights or prone to vertigo. Only strong hikers comfortable with steep downhills should take it.
• Route-finding by cairn. The Summit Trail spur (unsigned) and the primitive eastern arm are marked only by small 6–12 inch rock cairns that are hard to spot — and nearly impossible with any snow on the ground.
• Carry your water. This slope is dry and mostly shadeless; the only water is an intermittent creek near the eastern junction. Bring plenty — more than you think you’ll need.
• Poison ivy & burn scars. Poison ivy grows along the lower trail, and the 2012 High Park Fire burned much of this hillside — expect little shade and watch footing near old burn.
• Wilderness rules apply up high. Inside the Cache La Poudre Wilderness, groups are capped at 12; no bikes, no stock, no motorized use; camping and fires are prohibited within 200 ft of water or trail (and within ¼ mile of the trailhead everywhere).
• Dogs on a hand-held leash. Keep dogs leashed and with you the whole way.
• Winter access is limited. The trail holds snow and is open year-round, but the campground gate is locked in winter — park near Highway 14 without blocking the gate and hike in. Traction devices are usually needed, and don’t attempt the snow-covered primitive eastern arm.