Swamp Creek Trail

Swamp Creek Trail is one of those unassuming forest routes that never makes the guidebooks — about three miles of dirt tread winding through the timbered high country of the upper Poudre and Laramie River drainages, out in the Canyon Lakes Ranger District west of Red Feather Lakes. COTREX has it as a multi-use trail open to hikers, horses, mountain bikes, and motorcycles, so this isn't a hushed wilderness path; it's a working piece of the national-forest trail network where the whine of a two-stroke is part of the soundtrack on a busy weekend.

What you get in exchange for sharing the tread is solitude of a different kind — lodgepole and mixed conifer, the sound of water somewhere off in the trees, and a stretch of forest that most Front Range visitors drive right past. It runs roughly three miles between its southeast and northwest ends. Because it's lightly signed backcountry, download the track before you go, and check current conditions and any seasonal or motorized-use closures with the Canyon Lakes Ranger District before heading out.

Trail Facts

Getting There

In the upper Poudre / Laramie River country of NW Larimer County, within the USFS Canyon Lakes Ranger District west of Red Feather Lakes. It's lightly signed forest-service trail off the network of dirt roads in this drainage — confirm the trailhead and access road on the map before you go, and check with the Canyon Lakes Ranger District for current road and closure status.

Know Before You Go

• Multi-use and motorized. COTREX lists this trail as open to hikers, horses, bikes, and motorcycles (no ATVs) — expect to share the tread, and give motorized users room on blind corners.
• Dirt tread, backcountry setting. The surface is dirt and the trail is lightly signed; carry the downloaded track and a map rather than relying on trail markers.
• Part of the Canyon Lakes network. This is USFS Canyon Lakes Ranger District ground in the upper Poudre / Laramie River area — the same high country that holds much of Red Feather's backcountry.
• Check current conditions. Confirm access roads, seasonal closures, and any fire or motorized-use restrictions with the Canyon Lakes Ranger District before you go.