Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Colorado / Central Colorado

Colorado Trail Segment 8 (Copper Mountain to Tennessee Pass)

White River and Pike-San Isabel national forests (Copper Mountain to Tennessee Pass, near Leadville)

Segment 8 of the Colorado Trail runs about 25.4 miles from Copper Mountain to Tennessee Pass, by the trail foundation’s count. It climbs Guller Creek to treeline, crosses Searle and Kokomo passes on a high traverse, then drops to the ruins of Camp Hale, the World War II training camp of the 10th Mountain Division, before rolling uphill to Tennessee Pass near Leadville.

One cycling writer calls it the crown jewel of the trail’s first 10 segments. The long stretch above treeline is the main challenge, so watch the weather.

The hike

One trail listing starts the segment at the southeast corner of the Copper Mountain ski area’s overflow parking lot, near a bridge over Tenmile Creek. The trail crosses Highway 91 and rolls through the resort on singletrack, then follows Guller Creek for about 2.5 miles, gaining roughly 1,000 feet with several mostly bridged crossings. A 2019 trip report notes wildflowers and a beaver dam along the creek.

Janet’s Cabin, a reservation-only hut, sits at timberline at the head of the Guller Creek drainage. The hut association puts it at 11,610 feet. Long switchbacks climb past treeline to a basin below Elk Mountain, and Searle Pass is about a mile beyond, at 12,043 feet per the 2019 report. The same listing suggests Searle Pass as a turnaround point if weather or fitness is a concern.

From Searle Pass, the trail makes what the listing calls a “very unique, timberline traverse, punctuated with short climbs” over Elk Ridge. The high point, about 12,274 feet by its figures, is half a mile east of Kokomo Pass, and the listing calls it “the final commitment point.” It warns that this roughly 12,000-foot stretch is “a particularly bad place to be in a thunderstorm,” with no escape. The 2019 hikers found about five miles of exposure before treeline. A 2012 hiker saw an active mine, highways and a reservoir from Kokomo Pass, and the listing points out views of the Mountain of the Holy Cross on the way down.

The descent from Kokomo Pass is about 5 miles. Cataract Creek is crossed about 3.5 miles down, and below it the listing says the trail becomes steep and loose. About a mile later, the trail reaches Camp Hale at its southeast corner on Road 714.

Camp Hale lies in the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, designated in 2022. The forest says the monument covers 53,804 acres in two units. One forest conservation group says the camp, built in the 1940s, housed 17,000 soldiers. Hikers pass old concrete bunkers near the East Fork of the Eagle River, which a 2024 cycling guide calls an old munitions bunker site.

The last stretch to Tennessee Pass is about 5 miles and, per the listing, mostly a rolling uphill, so save some energy. One hiking columnist describes Mitchell Creek crossings, a footbridge over Fiddler Creek, the Highway 24 crossing, an old railroad grade and the ruins of coke ovens near the end. The segment finishes at the Tennessee Pass Trailhead, across Highway 24 from Ski Cooper.

The next segment heads into the Holy Cross Wilderness. For a high San Juan stretch, see Colorado Trail Segment 25.

Tips

Camping

No official list of campsites on this segment was found; camping is dispersed in the national forest. No source we read places Segment 8 in a designated wilderness, and no camping permit was found. Janet’s Cabin is a reservation-only hut open in summer from July through September, and its rules allow no overflow camping, no day use, no campfires and no outdoor cooking. The forest’s 2023 monument guide lists Camp Hale Memorial Campground, with 21 sites that can be reserved in advance. Forest orders ban travel off system roads and trails in parts of Camp Hale because of asbestos, and the monument guide says not to touch suspected old munitions and to call 911. Fire restrictions changed during 2026, and the trail foundation asks hikers to skip campfires altogether. Check current restrictions before you go.

Inside Intel: A 2015 trip report found campsites scarce on its first afternoon out of Copper; its group camped about 6.5 miles in, at about 10,850 feet, on a flat, open spot near the remains of a historic building at the end of a meadow, which six through-hikers also shared. On day two, the same group camped beside Cataract Creek below Kokomo Pass and claimed the spot early, writing that camping was off limits for about the next three miles. A 2012 trip report camped at Avalanche Creek after coming down from Kokomo Pass, then spent a second night in the Mitchell Creek valley. One cycling guide notes a possible camping spot about a mile up from Camp Hale.

Trail facts

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.