North Crestone Creek Trail is a 11.1 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Crestone, Colorado that features a lake and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, and backpacking. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
October 4, 2020
September 28, 2020Nice trail nothing to aggressive one section of loose rock. Cool old cabin and a chimney trail goes farther but didn't want to run out of day light.
September 6, 2020August 26, 2020Great trail. very few people. Marmots up towards the top.
July 16, 2020Beautiful trail. Lots of beautiful Aspens. There were very little bugs when I went however the monsoons are starting now which may or may not have an effect on the mosquitoes
July 11, 2020Be careful of the bears at the trailhead. A guy had his windows literally ripped out by a bear. Paw prints were evident.
July 7, 2020Hiked it today 7/7/20 on a Tuesday. My guide book says it's the heaviest used trail in the Sangres, but I started out early, and had the lake to myself (besides several marmots and lots of chirping birds). It's a very beautiful trail and a great hiking experience with superb views. My book says 12miles out and back, not 11.1. Regardless, the last mile or so is a good grunt up to the lake, like most Sangre trails. Lost of waterfalls and lots of aspen. It took me 3 hours and 20 minutes up and 3 hours back, with LOTS of quick stops for picture taking. Well worth the effort. No bugs and no snow today.
June 8, 2020Only went up 1.5 miles. Nice trail with good views of Creek
March 8, 2020This is one of my favorite trails in the area. Went today and it’s still snow packed in most areas and muddy in the others. Come prepared if you want to hit this trail in the near future.
December 29, 2019Looks like the big storms in mid December make up the substantial amount of the snowpack. There may be a few lines to be had in these lower trees, but it will likely require a good solid base to ride on, which did not exist today.
September 21, 2019No mosquitoes the mosquitoes are gone. Beautiful but super long hike. It’s more like 13.2 miles to the lake and back and we didn’t even go all the way down to the lake.
August 8, 2019August 4, 2019The trail itself is one of the better I’ve been on this year. Forestry service had their hands full with all the avalanches this year. The bugs. Oh my goodness the bugs. You better have a good reason to be going up the trail! The view is amazing. The fishing is awesome. But I had on long sleeves. Pants. A head net. And covered myself in 100% deet. And my body is still covered in hundreds of mosquito bites. It also rained on us every afternoon around 3:00 all 4 days we were there. Still a great weekend in my books!!
July 15, 2019Remember to pack bug spray for the mosquitoes, I cannot stress that enough! The mosquitoes are absolutely swarming and are hungry! The trail itself is gorgeous, quiet, and amazing. There were more than enough dispersed camping sites for those looking to backpack, with about three of them being near the start of the trail, three more near the fork, and then plenty dotting the path as you head up to the lake in some beautiful areas. The trail is clear all the way to the top, but those mosquitoes are really swarming along it, so bring that bug spray!
July 9, 2019Stayed the night up at the lake last night which was nice. There are really bad mosquitoes 90% of the trail which is why I’m rating 3 stars. Very beautiful in the higher elevations of the trail.
July 9, 2019Spent the past couple days hiking this trail. It’s all clear up to the top and a beautiful hike, but the mosquitoes are out in force! Bring lots of bug spray. Also there is a fantastic spot to camp out at just past the fork about a quarter mile in on the left. There’s a big boulder to hide out under which makes it a good spot to take shelter for any unpredicted storms too.
July 4, 2019The trail was clear to the top and absolutely beautiful. Make sure you wear bug spray though. The mosquitos are out and they’re hungry.
June 23, 2019Beautiful trail along the creek. We had to turn back before reaching the lake due to weather but made it pretty far to a nice waterfall. Brought snowshoes and did not need them. Passed a few snow fields with no problem. There were 2 water crossings that we were able to pass over fine using the natural log bridges (water was low enough thankfully). The avalanche debris threw us off for a minute but then we found the trail to the left easily- just had to navigate through some fallen aspens!
June 22, 2019This is a fantastic hike if you ever get a chance to explore the Sangres. I made it up to the wilderness area about half way up to the lake but the second bridge was flooded from the snow melt. Although I wasn't able to safely get up to the top, there were still plenty of opportunities to snag some awesome photos and take in the surrounding peaks. I will be back to camp and get to the top...when the bridges aren't flooded.
June 11, 20196/8/19. Very difficult stream crossing at mile 2.5 due to high amount of snow melt. We first attempted the main timbers/bridge crossing which was partially under water and not stable to hold weight. Then we attempted to wade across the creek, which was frigid and brisk. Finally, we found a fallen log 10-15 yards downstream and were able to straddle and shimmy across it with our packs on. Avalanche fall shortly thereafter, which was frozen on the way down and would generally require snowshoes (which we had). Terrain above about 11,000’ to lake at 11,600’ also requires snow shoes.
May 15, 2019We attempted to hike to the lake yesterday, but only got half way due to large amounts of snow on the trail. It’s still a worthy hike, with the sounds of the creek rushing by and beautiful views. The gate is closed to the campground, so you have to park at the end of the paved road and walk to the trailhead, about a mile. We’re pretty fit hikers and it took us about 90 minutes from the beginning of the campground to the fork in the trail, a little less than half way according to the AllTrails map. About a quarter mile after the fork is when we ran into increasing amounts of snow and ended up turning around.
