Crystal Trail

From Colorado Springs, drive West on 24, past Manitou Springs. About 9 miles after, look for signs to Green Mountain Falls. Take a left onto Chipita Park Road and follow for 1.5 miles. (The original parking description should be removed and replaced by instructions to park at the town parking lot in Green Mountain Falls and walk up Spruce& Mountain Rd to the forest trailhead. I am a member of Friends of Ute Pass Trails, the organization that maintains this trail. Please note that all trails in GMF ask that dogs are leashed. The best reference for trails in Colorado is COTREX) The trailhead to Crystal Trail is very straightforward; look for a blue circle trail marker, labeled "Crystal Trail," and start heading forward, as if the road continued. About 20 yards in, you'll see a rusty wire fence requesting that you "Please Follow Trail." About another 20-30 yards up, you'll encounter another rusty sign, practically illegible except for the top indicating, "Hikers Welcome." Another 20-30 yards, and you'll reach your first switchback, a blue trail marker pointing left. The full trail is (0.9miles) one direction with about 1,400 feet of elevation gain. The map presented is an approximation of mile one, based on the Fitbit recording included in the photos (switchback descriptions do not translate exactly to the map). Due to snowy/icy conditions, my dog could not continue past about a mile up, so we turned back. However, I have completed the full trail during summertime, and it is completely manageable without snow and ice for both dogs and humans. A little over 0.1 miles into Crystal Trail, you'll meet up with the Kirkpatrick Trail, indicated by a sign. You'll be hiking on both trails until reaching the 4th switchback, where they diverge. Continue straight to stay on Kirkpatrick, or veer sharp right to stay on Crystal. There is signage indicating these options. The trail gets slightly steeper as you press on toward switchback 5. Switchbacks 6-10 are short and less steep, while switchbacks 11-13 gain a bit more elevation. The next few switchbacks (14-16) mellow out, and the four following become slightly longer. The remaining switchbacks we tackled tended to be short and steep. We ended halfway through switchback 34, at the 1 mile mark. (The trail is very steep and should be considered Difficult.) The trail is overall easy to follow, though can be slippery, particularly going down, regardless of weather. Some switchbacks do hide from you.