Seven Utes Trail

Seven Utes leaves the highway country near Cameron Pass and works its way west into State Forest State Park, trading roadside lodgepole for dark spruce, willow-lined creek bottoms, and finally the open, rocky shoulders below Seven Utes Mountain and Mount Mahler. The short, popular version is the one most folks come for — a mile or so of steady climbing to Seven Utes Lake, tucked in its basin under the peaks — but COTREX maps the full trail running some 7.2 miles as it keeps climbing and wrapping around the mountain toward Mahler. It’s a dirt-and-track path the whole way, honest underfoot and easy to follow.

This is State Forest State Park ground, so it’s a friendlier mix of uses than the wilderness trails farther east: hikers, mountain bikers, and horses all share it, and dogs are welcome on leash. It sits high — the Cameron Pass area brushes 10,000 feet before you even start — so save it for summer and fall, carry layers for the wind that funnels over the pass, and keep an eye on the afternoon sky. A Colorado state parks pass is required to enter State Forest; check current trail and access conditions with the park before you go.

Trail Facts

Getting There

The trailhead is off CO-14 in the Cameron Pass area, on the State Forest State Park (west) side of the pass near the old Seven Utes Lodge site. From Walden or from the Poudre Canyon, follow CO-14 to the marked pull-off and confirm the trailhead on the map. A Colorado state parks pass is required for State Forest State Park — buy one ahead or at a park entrance.

Know Before You Go

• Two ways to hike it. Most people do the short out-and-back to Seven Utes Lake (about a mile of climbing); the full COTREX-mapped trail carries on to roughly 7.2 miles as it wraps toward Mount Mahler.
• Shared use. Per COTREX this is open to hiking, mountain biking, and horses, with dogs allowed on leash — a more relaxed mix than the wilderness trails to the east.
• State park pass required. The trail sits in State Forest State Park (Colorado Parks & Wildlife), so you’ll need a valid parks pass to park and hike here.
• High and exposed. You’re starting near 10,000 feet at Cameron Pass — best in summer and fall, and watch the afternoon sky for lightning once you’re out of the trees.