Boulder Brook Trail - 4.8 Miles Round-Trip

The Boulder Brook Trail connects Rocky Mountain's Bear Lake Road corridor with the North Longs Peak Trail, offering an alternative and seldom used overnight route to Longs Peak.

Trail Map | Photo Gallery

This unassumingly attractive trail closely follows Boulder Brook through the upper-montane zone into archetypal subalpine forests. Solitude seekers will enjoy its lively waters, diverse riparian vegetation, terrific autumn foliage, and good views of the Continental Divide and Mummy Range:

The trail drops from the trailhead to the brook, crosses a bridge (.12 miles) and gradually rises away through a tall lodgepole forest. It continues south past the Sprague Lake connector (.25 miles) and Glacier Creek - Storm Pass trail split (.37 miles), where it officially becomes the Boulder Brook Trail.

Horses are not permitted beyond this point.

The trail rejoins Boulder Brook at .55 miles (9,095') and turns sharply uphill. A steep climb beside the creek is highlighted by several waterfalls, aspen, deep green mosses and lush ground vegetation. Autumn colors are notably good on this stretch.

The grade eases through .75 miles (9,430'), where small clearings yield good views of Hallet Peak (12,713'), Flattop Mountain (12,324'), Otis Peak (12,486') and Thatchtop (12,668') to the east, glimpses of Longs Peak (14,259') and Storm Peak (13,326') to the south, and sweeping views of the distant Mummy Range to the north.

These water-lined meadows are also good places to find wildlife activity, particularly elk and deer.

The trails makes consecutive stream crossings to Boulder Brook Backcountry Campsites #2 and #1 (2.05 miles and 2.15 miles, respectively). The trail ends rather unceremoniously at its intersection with the North Longs Peak Trail (2.4 miles : 10.311').

A few steps along it to the west is a bridge spanning an attractive section of the brook, a good place to rest before retracing your steps back to the trailhead.