Distance: 4 miles round trip (much further possible)
Elevation: 9,385 ft-9,885 ft
Elevation Gain: 500 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash
Date Hiked: 1 July 2013
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| One of the open meadows along the lower portion of the Straight Creek Trail |
So why you ask would any outdoor lover worth their Nalgeen bottles want to hike on a dirt road that parallels noisy, dirty, aggravating I-70? Because sometimes we humans sacrifice our sensibilities for our four-legged companions who don't like to stay on the trail, disregard wilderness boundaries, and otherwise make a nuisance of themselves. For those reasons, Lower Straight Creek is an ideal guilt-free afterwork outing.
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| The trailhead. The route starts at the gate on the left |
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| Crossing Straight Creek |
The Forest Service says that to get to the trailhead, take exit 205 off of I-70 (Silverthorne/Dillon) and travel south on highway 6 toward Dillon. In approximately 1.2 miles turn left at the traffic intersection of Hwy 6 and Evergreen Road. Then make an immediate right onto County Road 51 and follow this for approximately 1.7 miles until it ends at a gate and the trailhead parking area.
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| The Straight Creek Trail is an old road so it is wide and rutted in parts |
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| A truck cruises by along I-70 |
The Straight Creek Trail parallels I-70 the entire way up to Eisenhower Tunnel but I only went up 2 miles. Because of recent clear cutting, there are some wide open expanses jealously guarded by
Marmots and a few darker, more confining segments that at times felt downright primeval. In the more open areas are some nice views of Buffalo Mountain.
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| Looking back at Buffalo Mountain |
I-70 is, as you might expect, very close but up 300 ft-600 ft berm and at times much lower but further away. I paid close attention to Ginger, the hyper one, to make sure she stayed away. Fortunately, the shrubs, trees, and critters near the creek were far more enticing.
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| Ginger searches for critters in the downed trees. Even after this outing, she still got me up at 6am to go again. Geesh! |
Be aware that the trailhead serves two trails. Lower Straight Creek starts across the bridge to the left. South Straight Creek starts on the right hand side of the creek.
