The state of Colorado is home to nearly 40,000 miles worth of trails. Each one varies in length, terrain and destination.
While plenty of those paths are great day hikes, pushing the boundaries to walk from days to weeks is a passion for some. For the hiker interested in taking on a longer hike, the Colorado Trail offers a 486 mile walk between Durango and Waterton Canyon, southwest of Denver. That trail shares part of the path with the Continental Divide Trail, a more than 3,000 mile hike from Mexico to Canada through the Rockies.
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Now, another long trail is working to attract hikers, the Northern Colorado Trail.
鈥淚n some ways, it was about creating some awareness of the beauty of the northern Colorado area, and all of its cool features and wilderness areas,鈥� said Kevin Silvernale, who first mapped the route.
The Route
Silvernale, an experienced hiker who completed trails like the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and Appalachian Trail (AT), calls Loveland home. After thousands of miles of hiking around the U.S., he wanted to set out on something closer to home. He began by using GPS and maps to find a route across the northern section of the state.
The result is the Northern Colorado Trail, a 292 mile trek from Estes Park to Glenwood Springs. The route brings hikers through parts of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Rawah Wilderness and the Flattops Wilderness Area.
Silvernale says about 60% of the journey is on existing trails, but the rest is on roadways, both gravel and paved.
鈥淲ithin the Walden area there's a lot of paved roads, just because of all the private land that exists,鈥� said Silvernale. 鈥淵ou have to use the public resources like that. But in some of the Forest Service areas where there are no trails, I just chose to use the Forest Service road to link the trails together.鈥�
Silvernale recently to share more about the trail, which includes multiple maps for potential hikers to learn the path and follow the route across the state.
The maps also outline a few destinations through town so hikers can refuel and take a break. Silvernale hopes this will give these areas, including the towns of Walden and Yampa, a slight economic boost.
Building Support
After completing the hike himself in August of 2024, Silvernale says the nearly 300 mile trip took him about 19 days.
Since then he鈥檚 shared more about the trail on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to build support. He says so far the response online has been favorable.
鈥淭he reaction has been very positive, impressively positive, with many people suggesting that they will possibly do it this year,鈥� says Silvernale. 鈥淪o with that traction and momentum, more and more will pile on, and there will actually be a good hiking community out there.鈥�
If more people end up on the trail, Silvernale hopes to use that positivity to clear the hurdle of private land. He wants to see more of the trail on actual paths and avoid roadways. To do this, he鈥檒l have to work with ranchers in the area to see if they will approve opening up parts of their land for passing hikers.
For now, he鈥檚 waiting for the snow covering the trails to melt so that they can open up to hikers looking to explore the northern part of the state.
