Mt. Princeton looms mightily while walking the River Access Trail.

Hike the High Rockies: Best Hikes in Salida, Colorado

Salida, Colorado is surrounded by mountains filled with hundreds and hundreds of miles of amazing hiking trails!

Alpine Climbing, Hiking Easy, Moderate, Difficult

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Mt. Princeton looms mightily while walking the River Access Trail.
Mt. Princeton looms mightily while walking the River Access Trail. Photo: Scott Anderson

Description

Salida, Colorado sits at the bottom of the Arkansas Valley surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides. If you climb to the top of S-Mountain, which rises right above downtown, and turn around in a full circle, all the hills and mountains that you see are filled with trails. Trails upon trails, hikes upon hikes—more hiking than you can do in a full year, and more than some people may do in a lifetime.

This amazing array of hiking opportunities makes choosing the best hikes in Salida a formidable task—but this guidebook is my best attempt. Herein, you’ll find a spread of the most popular and most beautiful hikes directly adjacent to Salida. Since there are so many hikes to choose from, I kept the radius for this guidebook rather tight around the Salida, only going as far north as Nathrop and as far west as the Continental Divide. Even so, this guidebook is chock-full of world-class hikes.

The hikes detailed in this guidebook also present a broad spread of lengths and technical difficulties. Looking for an easy hike? Start with the climb up S-Mountain mentioned above, and go from there. Looking for a challenging mountain summit? Then bagging both Shavano and Tabeguache in one long day hike is the route for you!

From S-Mountain to Mount Shavano, and everything in between, this guidebook unveils the best hiking in Salida, and some of the best hiking in the USA!

Routes included

Brown's Creek Falls

Brown's Creek Falls

A scenic hike to a roaring waterfall nestled in a gorgeous mountain canyon.

Difficult Hiking

Distance
9.5 km
Ascent
308 m
Descent
308 m

Waterdog Lakes

Waterdog Lakes

Climb to a set of beautiful alpine lakes nestled right below the Continental Divide.

Difficult Hiking

Distance
7 km
Ascent
386 m
Descent
386 m

Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak

Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak

One of the most easily-accessible trailheads in Chaffee County leads to two of Colorado's famous 14ers.

Easy Alpine Climbing

Distance
17 km
Ascent
1.6 km
Descent
1.6 km

Columbine Loop

Columbine Loop

A beautiful loop providing a taste of alpine hiking, close to downtown Salida.

Difficult Hiking

Distance
13 km
Ascent
459 m
Descent
459 m

S-Mountain

S-Mountain

Gain stunning views of Salida and the Arkansas Valley from the top of this hill that rises above downtown.

Moderate Hiking

Distance
5.8 km
Ascent
145 m
Descent
145 m

Green's Creek

Green's Creek

Hike up a gorgeous mountain valley along a rushing stream.

Difficult Hiking

Distance
22 km
Ascent
898 m
Descent
898 m

North Backbone

North Backbone

A delightful hike through the rocks, washes, and pinons in the Arkansas Hills.

Moderate Hiking

Distance
9.8 km
Ascent
200 m
Descent
200 m

Sand Dunes Loop

Sand Dunes Loop

Hike one of the most intriguing trails in the Arkansas Hills.

Difficult Hiking

Distance
7.6 km
Ascent
247 m
Descent
247 m

Alpine Tunnel

Alpine Tunnel

Hike to the remnants of North America's highest railroad tunnel.

Difficult Hiking

Distance
10 km
Ascent
275 m
Descent
275 m
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