Yurt-to-Yurt Winter Access Trail

This is not a summer stroll — it's a winter route, plain and honest. The Yurt-to-Yurt Winter Access Trail threads about 5.3 miles across the snowbound heart of State Forest State Park, stitching together the ski-in shelters of the Never Summer Nordic yurt system. COTREX maps it as a snow-surface trail, and that's exactly how you'll travel it: on Nordic skis or snowshoes, breaking trail through lodgepole and open meadows with the jagged Never Summer and Medicine Bow ranges standing guard on every side. It runs from the lower trailhead country near Montgomery Pass and Cameron Pass (off CO-14) up and northwest past the Dancing Moose yurt toward the park's higher shelters.

Because it exists for winter, it rewards planning over bravado. Much of the corridor doubles as a groomed or skier-tracked route between yurts, but conditions swing hard with the weather — deep new snow, wind slab, and short daylight all change the math. State Forest State Park requires a pass, and the yurts are reserved and managed through Never Summer Nordic; a hut key is not a substitute for avalanche awareness and self-sufficiency out here. Carry the ten essentials, know your party's limits, and check current snow and road conditions with the park before you commit — this is real backcountry, miles from a plow.

Trail Facts

Getting There

State Forest State Park sits along CO-14 west of Cameron Pass, roughly 75 miles from Fort Collins over the Poudre Canyon. The winter yurt routes are reached from the park's trailheads near Montgomery Pass and the North Michigan Reservoir / Gould area; a State Parks pass is required, and yurt stays are booked through Never Summer Nordic. Confirm the specific trailhead, parking, and current snow conditions with the park before you go — access points and grooming change through the season.

Know Before You Go

• Winter route only. COTREX maps this as a snow-surface trail through State Forest State Park — it's meant for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing between the Never Summer Nordic yurts, not summer hiking.
• A gap in the mapped route. Between the two mapped snow segments there is roughly a kilometer of skiway that isn’t in the public trail data — it shows on the map as a dashed amber line, not a surveyed track. Follow the Never Summer Nordic route markers and the yurt system’s own directions on the ground, and travel with winter backcountry skills, a map, and GPS.
• Passes & reservations. A Colorado State Parks pass is required for the park, and the yurts are reserved and managed through Never Summer Nordic — book ahead.
• Backcountry self-reliance. You'll be miles from a plowed road and any help; carry the ten essentials, layers, navigation, and know your avalanche and cold-weather basics.
• Check conditions first. Snow depth, grooming, and road access shift with every storm — confirm current conditions with State Forest State Park before you commit.