Head east on a slight uphill grade on the closed-off road. You’ll be using former roads of various widths most of the way. In 1.1 miles turn left off this road and go northeast uphill (N 37 20.343, W 107 54.753, 7,660 feet). At 1.7 miles, after 0.6 miles of mostly climbing, you’ll reach a flat spot where the shorter trail loop splits off to the left (west) (N 37 20.534, W 107 53.337, 7,930 feet).
For the long loop, continue on another 100 yards to where another trail splits left (northwest) off the old road. This trail is marked “more difficult,” to help mountain bikers decide the right route. From here the trail climbs to the north for a half-mile, then levels out and stays around 8,200 feet elevation for 1.3 miles as it again follows an old road. At 3.5 miles the trail takes off to the right (northwest) uphill on a singletrack trail, and climbs 200 feet more before reaching Junction Creek Road at 3.9 miles (N 37 21.367, W 107 54.668, 8,350 feet).
Go left downhill on Junction Creek Road for only about 10 yards, locating the trail on the other side. This trail (actually an old road) heads slightly uphill for another 0.1 miles before coming to another old road, which you’ll turn left onto and head steeply downhill (N 37 21.427, W 107 54.697, 8,400 feet). This trail has been used for downhill races, and it’s possible that downhillers could be training on it. In any case, be aware that many mountain bikers use these trails.
From the road crossing it’s 1.5 miles to a corral that’s on the right side of the trail. At this point, 5.5 miles into the hike, the short loop trail joins the long loop. You’re hiking on a two-track old road. A hundred yards past the corral, as you turn from going south-southeast to almost due east, there’s a trail that heads south. This trail takes you to the Colorado Trail near Junction Creek Campground. Instead, go another 100 yards due east and find a trail that heads south-southeast off the two-track (N 37 20.647, W 107 55.106, 7,710 feet); if you suddenly reach Junction Creek Road you’ve gone too far.
From here it’s 0.7 miles back to the parking area. At the end you’ll cross the road one more time before arriving back at your car.
OPTIONS: The shorter option was pretty well explained on page 52. From the point where you go left off the longer loop, it’s 2.2 miles to the corral. This trail dips and climbs a bit, but mostly remains at approximately the same altitude.
There are several trails to the east of the main loops that you could take and add some more distance or see a new piece of land. One goes out to a nice overlook of Falls Creek, although for much of this stretch those darn ponderosa pine trees kind of get in the way of your view.
RAIDER RIDGE
DISTANCE: 4.6 miles round-trip
ELEVATION: Start at 6,600 feet, high point at 7,480 feet (880-foot gain)
RATING: Easy
TIME ALLOWED: 2 to 3 hours
This is the first of four hikes that are part of the Telegraph Trail system, an interconnected set of trails just east of downtown Durango. (You can probably count the Skyline Trail on page 62 in here too.) Really, these four hikes are just suggestions and a way of introducing the hiker to this system, which also include Meadow Loop and Telegraph Trail (page 56), Carbon Junction Trail (page 58) and Sale Barn Canyon (page 60).
Raider Ridge is an easy hike out of Durango. It offers nice views down over parts of the city, the Fort Lewis College campus, the east side of the La Platas, and the south side of some of the San Juans.
The name “Raider Ridge” comes from the former mascot of the Fort Lewis athletic teams. At one time, students maintained a big “R” on the campus side of this ridge. The Raiders have been the Skyhawks since the 1990s, but the ridge often is still called the politically incorrect Raider.
Some of this ridge is owned by the city of Durango; a good chunk of land is actually private property. The ridge is a steep sandstone uplift tilted 10 to 15 degrees to the southeast, known by geologists as a “hogback.”
You can often hike or run this trail in midwinter without too much problem, although there can be some snow and, less conducive to decent hiking, mud. This route from Horse Gulch presents the sunny side of the ridge, where snow tends to melt fairly rapidly.
Many trails in the Telegraph system were built in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the impetus of Trails 2000, a local trails advocacy group. Raider Ridge, however, is an older trail. Mountain bikers are the main users of this system, but Raider Ridge does not get quite as many of them, particularly the “extended” ridge, which is the hike described here.
APPROACH: From East Eighth Avenue, head east on Third Street a block to a paved parking area (N 37 15.883, W 107 52.329, 6,600 feet). Don’t park at the Horse Gulch Medical Complex just to the west. Third Street turns into a dirt county road, closed to public motor vehicles. There should be a porta-potty or two here.
HIKE: Hike up Horse Gulch Road 1 mile (0.3 miles past the Meadow Loop turnoff) to where an old unmarked road splits from the main road at a 120-degree left turn (N 37 16.065, W 107 51.495, 6,940 feet). This trail heads west for 0.1 miles, where it splits again. Go right (north) uphill on what’s called Rocky Road.
Looking up the Raider Ridge Trail. The suggested route comes down from the background and goes downhill to the right here along the black dirt section.
At 1.4 miles you’ll reach another junction (N 37 16.314, W 107 51.573, 7,220 feet). Up ahead and to the left is a steep hillside of black dirt with a trail leading up it. This is the short way (about 100 yards from here) to the top of the ridge, and it’s the route you’ll come down if you follow these directions.
Instead of going up the black dirt hillside, go right, continuing on the remnants of the old road. At 2.2 miles, after a 200-foot gain, reach the top of the “extended” ridge, a saddle from where you’ll get an excellent view (N 37 16.763, W 107 50.966, 7,420 feet). Straight north, the Animas Valley opens in front of you, and you can see all the way to the West Needle Mountains. The La Plata Mountains rise west above the city. Down below are the golf course and the SkyRidge development.
Take the trail that heads west, uphill briefly, along the ridge to the high point of this hike at 7,482 feet. Enjoy the many splendid views along the ridge. At 3.1 miles you’ll come to the black dirt mentioned previously. From the black dirt, head downhill and retrace your route back to the trailhead.
OPTIONS: From the saddle at the top of the extended ridge you have several choices. You could turn right, continuing up the extended ridge to the northeast. You could go down the new SkyRaider Trail to the Powerline Trail and get back to the Horse Gulch trailhead that way. Or you could go downhill to the left in the ridge and make your way down from the black dirt.
MEADOW LOOP–TELEGRAPH TRAIL
DISTANCE: 5.1 miles round-trip
ELEVATION: Start at 6,600 feet, top of Telegraph at 7,480 feet (880-foot gain)
RATING: Easy
TIME ALLOWED: 2 to 3 hours
