Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · Colorado
Coal Creek
8.6 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 2702 · trail class 2 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike · seasonal: hiking 06/01-10/31
Begins at the forest's mile 0, 38.9966, -108.1116 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins
Throughline/Coal Creek TH (Dispersed)-Paonia RD the Forest Service's write-up
season May to
The Throughline Trail #860 is a major route through the West Elk Wilderness to the Smith Fork country near Crawford. The Trailhead provides opportunities for dispersed camping with enough room for horse trailer camping. There are mangers for hay and hitching rails. This area is a popular camping spot during Big Game Hunting season.
Restrictions 14 day camping limit.
This hike on fs.usda.gov
Every trail in Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests
About this trail's facts
The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.
