Cattle Creek #1909

About Cattle Creek #1909

The trail travels through aspens and meadows with patches of spruce and fir. It is hard to follow at times so be sure and carry a compass and map. Cattle graze in the area making lots of trails. Please leave gates in the position that you found them. For safety, bicycles must yield to hikers, who in turn yield to horses. Keep your speed down and ride safely. To protect wildlife please leave your dog at home; this is an important wildlife area for elk. This trail should not be ridden prior to June 21st annually to avoid disturbing calving elk.

How to Get There

From Carbondale follow Hwy 82 east and turn left at the stoplight at El Jebel. Go through El Jebel and travel about 5 miles on county road 13 to the Basalt Mountain Road (509). Turn right onto road #509, proceed 2 miles and take the left fork, which immediately goes downhill. At the bottom of the hill is cow camp, go right and follow this road about 2.5 miles to an old wooden locked gate. The trail starts approximately 50 feet south of this gate. Please park in the new parking lot 300 feet back. Note: Road #509 is impassable when wet past the intersection with the Basalt Mountain road #524.

Plan Your Visit to Cattle Creek #1909

Heading to Cattle Creek #1909? A few things to know before you go:

• Reservations: popular sites fill up fast — check Recreation.gov 6 months in advance
• Fees: day-use and camping fees vary; check current rates on the official park page
• Trash & pack-out: follow Leave No Trace principles
• Wildlife: store food in bear boxes where provided; never feed wildlife
• Weather: the 5-day forecast above is updated every 6 hours; verify just before you go

References & Official Resources

• Official Recreation.gov page
• View on OpenStreetMap
• Driving directions (Google Maps)