Trail Update as of 6/15/2024 Trail Cleared from Fawn Gulch Trailhead and East fork Trailhead all the way by Pagosa Ranger District Trail and Fire Crew 118 trees cleared.
Please share trail update info in the comment section below
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Coal Creek on 6/23/19 -
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Length: 8.3 miles end-to-end
Elevation Stats: From East Fork side to summit, elevation gain is 2,974 ft., then descends 2,829 ft.to Fawn Gulch terminus.
Trailhead Facilities: None
Trail Summary: This hike description is a point-to-point hike.
Don’t let the name fool you – the creek will be difficult to find except for a few instances on each side of the ridge.
This is an up and over hike with a lot of terrain personality. There are numerous geological features to decipher between stands of aspen and falling spruce-fir forest. Expect to be hurdling trees near the ridge. From the Fawn Gulch side, the trail is difficult to follow once hikers reach the meadow. Simply continue directly up the meadow and just before the trees turn south following the tree line to a clear path. At the wilderness boundary views extend to the lower slopes of the Quartz Ridge and Range.
From the East Fork side, the trail can be difficult to follow shortly after the wilderness boundary. Cross the creek which is the less used of the forked path and the trail becomes clear again with long views into the East Fork drainage.
Fawn Gulch Trailhead Driving Directions: From US 160/US 84 junction, continue east for 4-miles. Turn south onto Fawn Gulch Road (FS 662). Continue for 4.2-miles to the trailhead on the east side of the road. Ample parking.
Interactive Driving Map to Fawn Gulch Trailhead
East Fork Trailhead Driving Directions: From US 160/US 84 junction, continue east for 9.7-miles. Turn south onto East Fork Road (FS 667). Continue for 3.5-miles to the trailhead on the south side of the road. This is a shared trailhead with the Quartz Ridge Trail No. 570. A 4WD vehicle is recommended but the road is usually in good enough condition for 2WD vehicles to make it to this trailhead.
Interactive Map to East Fork Trailhead
As of 7/2/22, trail is clear 4 miles in from the trailhead on Fawn Gulch Road
As of 6/17/22, trail is clear two miles in from the trailhead on the Fawn Gulch Road
5/28/2022 Hiked part way up Coal Creek from Fawn Gulch trailhead. Trail mostly clear to second small meadow after barren eroded areas, then multiple windfall across trail on section traversing below cliffs to 2nd creek access. One windfall on steep section up ridge from there. Stopped where ridge levels off.
Thru hiked from Fawn Gulch to Sand Creek. Trail remains clear to meadow at mile 3.7. Trail then deviates from map and follows Wilderness Boundary until saddle. 10-15 trees down across trail from mile 3.8 to 4.8, as you cross the saddle. Trail is well defined thereafter.
As of 5/29/21, trail is clear from the Fawn Gulch Road to the big meadow, about 3.7 miles
Trail is clear from the Fawn Gulch Road to Wilderness boundary
As of May 9, 2020, Coal Creek Trail is opened from the Fawn Gulch side up to the 9800′ elev at mile point 3.2 courtesy of the Phantom Trail Crew.
Hiked almost up to the ridge today (4/30/20), up to about 400 vertical feet below the ridge and did not encounter too much snow or mud (easily avoidable, I was in chacos). At that point there was snow covering the trail and I was not committed enough to continue in chacos, I felt lucky to make it that far. We did see bear tracks on the trail, they were not very fresh but some were in incompletely dried mud. No fresh scat (and no bears observed).
Kate,
Thanks for update. How was the Coal Creek crossing?
Did you go up from the East Fork side or the Fawn Gulch side? How many trees are down across the trail?