Signal Butte Trail is a 1 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Woodland Park, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, and snowshoeing and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Colorado Tourism Office, 1625 Broadway, Suite 1700 , Denver, CO, 80202, Phone: 800-COLORADO
I'm new to the area and don't know my way around yet... After reading all of the reviews, I too was expecting difficulty finding the trailhead. To my surprise, I had no trouble at all. It's important to note at the Routes 51 & 512 junction, you need to make a right turn to stay on CR 51 (not straight on 512). CR 51 eventually turns to dirt, but there are homes along the way, so it's well maintained. The right turn for FR 363 occurs at a point where CR 51 makes a sharp left, so you're sort of going "straight" onto FR 363. There's also a sign at this intersection "Phantom Creek OHV Trailhead" which is about a half mile down FR 363. When you reach the large open area where the ATV'ers park, watch for a road bearing left with a post FR 362. Take FR 362, which can get a little rough and sketchy in spots. Good ground clearance is helpful, but 4WD not needed. Follow FR 362 for 3 1/2 miles (Signal Butte can be seen ahead of you). When Signal Butte is eventually on your left, you'll come to a road heading towards it, marked FR 362A. Take this left and follow it about 1/4 mile where it ends at the Signal Butte parking area and trailhead. The trail is rocky and on the north side of Signal Butte, the trail was snow covered, as the north side doesn't get much sunshine this time of year (November). I look forward to doing this one again in the Springtime!!
Great views! Getting up is a workout, but nice to soak it all in.
We took an unplanned detour off the highway to take the hike, mistake! hint - prepare, know the route, and don't rely on your smartphone's navigation app to get in and out. We didn't realize how far in it was. Actually, we passed it by and never found the trailhead. There is no sign for the trailhead, at least not off SRR 362 that we could find. Warning - FSR 362 is remote and we lost our connection Google Maps. It was no problem getting there, but there are a few forks in the road on the teturn trip and we git lost for 2 hours until a we ran into a nice guy 100 miles from nowhere who was there to do mining. With instructions where not to turn we made it out safe, running on fumes. When I got home I checked GPS from a photo and realized thay we had at one point made it to the trail but didn't know it since it wasn't posted. Maybe we missed the trailhead sign. If someone has a photo please post it. Perhaps it can spare others.
I'm not sure where the directions for this trail came from, but the Signal Butte Trail I know of starts in a completely different place and climbs around 1000' as it spirals counterclockwise around the Butte. I have been only partially up it because I started the climb on a day when I had not planned and didn't have enough water. I plan to hike it this summer (2012) To get to this one go west on Hwy 24 from Colorado Springs to Florissant. Turn north onto CR 31 and follow it as it curves back NW. Take first right onto CR 31, AKA Wildhorn Rd. Follow that for about 7 miles to Cedar Mountain Rd and take a right. Take first left onto Phantom Rd and go about a mile to a parking area for ATVs and motorcycles. From there take the left fork on FSR 362. Go about another 7 miles northeast and watch to your left. You will see a prominent cone shaped mountain. I don't remember the turnoff road # to go to the base of the mountain, but it will be obvious. There is a parking area at the base and some good places for a picnic. I'm not sure how long the trail is but I'd guess at a mile to a mile and a half. You will have a fabulous 360 degree view once you reach the top!