Tabor Pass - 7.9 Miles Round-Trip

Tabor Pass is located 3.95 miles from Lincoln Creek Road in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. The Tabor Creek Trail runs through long stretches of alpine meadow with several large tarns up to the pass. While grades are generally moderate, the trail fades considerably past 2.75 miles and route finding may be necessary in the upper valley.

Trail Map | Photo Gallery

Have a map and general understanding of the route before setting out. Cairns offer guidance, but are inconsistently placed and can be difficult to spot in open tundra.

Fortunately the trail tends to follow the best available terrain and most intuitive route, which greatly helps navigation. Snow cover will compound any challenges, so consider waiting until mid-summer if uncomfortable in these conditions. GPS points given here are useful, but your on-trail experience may differ slightly.

Visitors will enjoy expansive alpine landscapes, abundant flowers and great views to and from the pass. Tabor Lake and Truro Lake are accessible from the trail and pass (respectively) with good route finding skills:

The trail immediately crosses Lincoln Creek and rises steeply beside a deep gulch to aqueduct road (.3 miles : 10,590'). Cross the road and pass the Wilderness Boundary (.35 miles) to Tabor Creek (.62 miles : 10,735').

It crosses the creek, turns south and moderates across broad grassy slopes with an exceptional array of flowers (1.0 miles : 10,975'). The trail runs fast through open slopes and patchy forest before rising steeply past 2.0 miles to the edge of treeline (2.5 miles : 11,605').

It pushes past treeline on rugged, brushy terrain into a big meadow in the upper valley where the trail abruptly fades (2.75 miles : 11,790'). Note this important point for the return hike.

Follow cairns left toward the center of the valley to the first of three large tarns (2.93 miles : 11,492'). A steep wall juts into the valley past the largest tarn, which you needn't scale.

Simply follow cairns and/or best available terrain (which is fairly smooth and level) around this large feature and hook back to the east side of the upper valley once past it (3.15 miles : 11,930').

Here the upper valley tapers with a clear look at the pass. Stay high on the east valley wall and follow mild-moderate contours to a cairn at the base of the pass (3.8 miles : 12,255'). The trail clarifies and winds up through loose rock to Tabor Pass (3.95 miles : 12,462').

Views from the pass down Tabor Creek are exceptional, though somewhat confined to peaks and the immediate basin on the north side. It's easy to drop to a large tarn at the top of Galena Creek, and continue down a short distance for bigger views of the drainage.