White River National Forest · Colorado

Hadley Gulch

5.2 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1840 · trail class 2 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 24-36 inches wide · hiking, horse

Trailhead Clinetop (Main Elk) Trailhead Drive there

Hadley Gulch #1840 the Forest Service's write-up

No fee

Hadley Gulch Trail leads visitors from Main Elk Creek to the top of Clinetop Mesa, gaining approximately 3,200 feet of elevation over a distance of 5 miles. Along the way, visitors will pass beneath steep slopes and picturesque rock faces as they follow the path through the bottom of the gulch.

The trail begins at the Clinetop Trailhead and initially heads north. This initial trail segment has a mild grade and offers good views towards Main Elk Canyon. At about 0.3 miles visitors will come to a fork in the trail; keep right to remain on the path for Hadley Gulch (the left fork leads to a popular climbing area above Main Elk Creek). From here, the grade begins to increase as the trail angles away from the creek. The trail soon enters Hadley Gulch and begins to steadily climb. Visitors will initially pass through stands of oak brush and aspen before reaching an old burn area. The gulch narrows over the final few miles, offering a close-up perspective of the surrounding slopes and rock faces.

At about 4.5 miles, the trail emerges from the gulch, turns north, and leads visitors to the top of the Mesa. At this point, visitors are treated to expansive views of the nearby meadows and surrounding topography. Hadley Gulch trail ends at Forest Road 653 near the Clinetop Cow Camp.

View the Recreation Opportunity Guide for the Hadley Gulch Trail (.pdf ).

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in White River National Forest

All 729 trails in White River National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

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.