Wanna get away? Blue Mountain is a true hidden gem for camping and easy trails close to Colorado Springs. Unusual for Colorado, this area was not heavily mined during the gold and silver rushes. Instead, it was dominated by cattle ranching from the late 1800s through the middle of the 1900s.
Fish Creek follows a beautiful stream through woods and meadows around the south and east extents of this trail system that primarily provides access to some excellent, trailer-accessible, dispersed campsites open year-round.
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From US-24 in Lake George, take CR-96 southwest towards 11-Mile Canyon. At 1.4 miles, bear left onto CR-61. (Google maps has this road labeled as CR 244. Google lies.) After an additional 3 miles, turn left onto FS 877. This is the trailhead.
Great news: The 403 fire is contained. Less great news: The USFS has issued a stage 1 fire ban. That means no smoking outside a vehicle and no campfires outside of pay campsites with metal fire rings or grills. Details at The USFS website.
South Park District fire crews will perform prescribed burns in the area for the next few days as part of the Wilson Project. Expect smoke and possible closed roads.
This trail guide's difficulty was changed on
07/27/2022
Gosh... with all the other trails in the area added to this one we spent 4 hours exploring. Easy driving, slow leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery and noting how many campsites were scattered throughout the area.
Very scenic - aspen groves, mature ponderosa and huge granite rock outcroppings are abundant throughout the trail. Stopped at the lake (Joe Wilson Reservoir) for a few moments to enjoy the scenery. Explored the 878 "spur" and found it fun with the moderate ruts and tight squeezes between trees. Talked to a resident coming out his driveway, he mentioned he seldomly sees anyone coming up or down the road.
This week, Teller County issued a Stage 1 fire ban. This trail is not in Teller County, but in places, it's literally feet from the county line, close enough that neighboring landowners might call in a fire if they smell your campfire smoke. Just something to keep in mind.
Hot day out. The creek and fishing pond are gorgeous, but it was nice to get back into the trees. Talked to a cool old guy who said he and his wife have camped here every year for 15 years!
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Trint grew up riding dirt bikes in the creek beds of the Texas Panhandle. While attending college in Colorado in the late 1990's, he saw a magazine article about a Ford Explorer four-wheeling club. He never saw his Explorer as an adventure vehicle before, but quickly joined up and caught the bug.
With his engineering background, Trint has always respected the factory design of a good truck (and recognized when manufacturers put cheap parts into something marketed for off road use). "A good driver, with a well built, stock truck can do trails that would break a $50k, built-up rig with an inexperienced driver."
He put that 1st gen Explorer though hell and it always held up, earning great respect from the "big dawgs" in the club. (And earning the nickname, "The Idiot Stocker.") The truck was christened "BamBam" because of the frequent sounds ringing out from the factory skid plates.
Now that Trint is "grown-up" (quotation marks intentional), he's a bit less inclined to dent up his 2011 Toyota Tacoma, but still feels the same way about superior engineering. The "Stocko Taco" wheeled for over 10 years with no mods other than trail armor. In 2021, it finally got a couple of inches of lift... and a new name: "Taco Supreme."
Trint's love for the mountains was ingrained at a very early age. 8mm film exists of 18-month-old Trint in a backpack on his dad's back while riding dirt bikes through the mountains of Red River, NM. Although Trint does enjoy a good, tough, technical rock trail, he can often be found on easier, winding, Alpine roads just taking the glory of God's country.
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