CDT - Berthoud Pass to Stanley Mountain

The trail starts at the parking lot at the top of Berthoud Pass. There is a large parking lot with bathrooms maintained by USFS. The trailhead is directly across Highway 40 from the parking lot. From the top of Berthoud Pass parking lot, cross Highway 40 and follow the singletrack trail up! It's that simple! Follow the trail up through the woods to gain great views even before you get above treeline. Once above treeline, you have amazing views of the Winter Park area and the Continental Divide Trail in both directions. The steepest climb is a series of switchbacks about 1.5 miles into your hike. The true summit of Stanley is about 200 ft off of the trail. A little rock scrambling is required to reach the flag marking the summit. Once you make it up the first 2 miles (including the steep switchback section at 1.5 miles in) the trail is what I would call gently rolling. The trail is mostly hard packed dirt with a fair amount of rocks. This is an out and back route so you can decide how far you'd like to go or make a quick hike if weather is coming in.