Piedra River Trail is a 7.3 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Pagosa Springs, Colorado that features a river and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October. Dogs and horses are also able to use this trail.
dog friendly
kid friendly
fishing
hiking
horseback riding
nature trips
rock climbing
walking
bird watching
running
river
views
wild flowers
Incredibly beautiful, lots of rocks to climb and explore
the colors of Fall were exquisite, and the weather was perfect. we fished, and our dog loved being able to zoom through the forest and into the river.
Easy hike! Beautiful river and canyon views
Beautiful trail, with all of our favorites, water, mountains and meadows.
Justin G.
I ran three miles in and back out this morning. This trail is gorgeous, but it is rough for trail running. The trail smoothed out a bit after the first mile, but I still had to pay attention as to not roll my ankle constantly. I definitely recommend this trail for hiking, though. It's a gem, and the road to it from Pagosa isn't too bad either.
This trail is beautiful and easy. Great views start immediately. Walk right along the river with amazing rock walls alongside. Be sure to go past the first bridge on the trail to the open meadow area, just as beautiful as the rocky areas along the river. It took us about an hour to get to the first bridge. Once we got to the meadow, we kept going until the trail started to hug the river. It took us a little over 2 hours in and out to go this far, around 4.5 miles. We hiked three days and storms rolled in around 2:30 or 3:00 each day on the mountains, usually nothing too bad.
Excellent trail for novice hikers like my wife and i. we took our small dog and he had no issues with the terrain. Great views as you follow the river through the canyon and along meadows.
I have spent a lot of time in Colorado and for time constraints and other lame reasons, I’ve never been able to hike in these beautiful mountains. A friend of mine knew I was headed to Pagosa for work and told me I had to hit this trail. I finally had a day to dedicate to it and all I can say it’s a day I will remember forever. You don’t have to even hike very far to get a payoff...I ended up doing the whole thing because I simply couldn’t stop! It had just rained before I showed up so the trail was a little messy - wear shoes with good footing as some of the areas can be steep and narrow. Other than that, bring your best camera, water and snacks...you might find yourself unable to turn around and go back to the real world!
Wonderful trail with lots of variety. Was getting a little busy by mid day but there is lots of space and it did not feel crowded. Good for people of all ages. Great trail if you are just arriving at this elevation.
Beautiful scenery and an easy walk. Well worth it.
Walked the entire trail yesterday (8/2/19) from the Piedra Trailhead at the north end to the First Fork Trailhead on the south, 12.8 miles by two different GPSs (33,000 steps, btw). There were a couple of trees down with trails beaten around them already, but one was down in a steep place about two miles from the south end and though passable by hikers will not be passable by horses or mules without some chainsaw work
Vanessa Watson recorded Piedra River Trail
Beautiful trail with tons of wildflowers. It got a little crowded between 12-1pm. It’s 11 very doable miles.
We only went down about a mile or two before turning back with our 2 kids, 7 & 10. It’s beautiful! Easy well maintained hike. I’d love to go farther next time. Warning-poison ivy along the trail in several places. Easy to avoid if you know what you’re looking for.
Jerry H.
Only went in about 2 miles, but this was a great hike. After we took a lunch break we also did the ice fissures trail, starts from the same trail head, but goes up to the right, the end of this trail has stunning views looking over the bluffs.
The first mile or so of this trail is very nice as it followed along the river and through the box canyon walls. After the bridge it is all meadow and no shade. Overall I went in about 2.3 miles and turned around at the trail sign as it was pretty boring.
This is one of those surprising trails, got to just see for yourself.
Really great box canyon views. Lots of variation sun/shade. We only went a couple of miles in because we started the day at the falls. Want to go back and spend the whole day along the river.
Frank S.
Great hike...awesome scenery...amazing indeed. Getting to the trailhead was very easy...the first 3 miles are splendid...a bit rocky and challenging in spots...so not EASY per se. When you get to the 3 mile marker, please pay attention. Go left toward the bridge (the 2nd from the trailhead)...go over the bridge...and wrap around and upward across the meadow. Past the meadow it got tricky for us...overgrown trail...no longer visible. We had to turn around at the 3.7 mile marker ☹️ A shame really as we were really looking forward to the touchstone at the end...but still a lovely hike overall
Beautiful hike. Recording that comes up on the app is Piedra River Trail but the last half mile or so is actually the Piedra Stock Trail. 1st 2 miles were great. The next 1.5 miles a little bland but we took the Piedra River Trail about 100 yards past where the two trails split then off trail down and to the left to some rocks that overlook the river and the meadow across the way. Terrific place to relax and have lunch/take some pics. Very easy hike for a little over 7 miles.
Fantastic hike. A welcome break from the usual 14ners and other knee crushing hikes I normally do. Very nice fairly flat trail along a raging river (at least it was on this day). See my video here: https://youtu.be/-7od4faWnsM
best hike ever for an old dude from Ft. Worth. Great river views, pretty easy trail and well maintained.
Stunning.
beautiful trail but it never feels like it ends after 4 miles it still went on so we just decided to turn around.
Great trail perfect for any level of hikers beautiful scenery great way to spend a few hours
easy hike with beautiful scenery
Hiked in to climb. The snow melting made for some mud but nothing you couldn’t deal with. Especially since the snow melting also made for beautiful waterfalls.