Hiking Trails of Southwestern Colorado, Fifth Edition. John Peel
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Dalla Mountain Park is another city-owned parcel with myriad trails. It’s very popular with dog walkers and sport climbers. If it’s popular with climbers, that means there are plenty of rocks and boulders, some of them huge, all of them sandstone. There are also trees (mostly piñons) growing out of these boulders everywhere, a reaffirming sign of the tenacity of life. To get there, go west off Main Avenue up Twenty-Fifth Street. Go 1 mile and look for the parking area on the right. There are several miles of trails winding about this 176-acre parcel the city of Durango purchased from previous owner Jake Dalla in 2005. This area, still known locally as “Sailing Hawks,” abuts Animas City Mountain, and those trail systems are linked.
Located northeast of town off Florida Road is the 1.2-mile-long Pioneer Trail. It’s popular with people in the Edgemont development nearby. From the intersection of CR 250 (East Animas Road) and CR 240 (Florida Road), go 3 miles up Florida Road. About 150 yards before the big sign for Edgemont Ranch (a subdivision), look for a gravel road on the left. Drive up that gravel road for 100 yards to a very small parking area (N 37 18.796, W 107 47.933, 7,360 feet), and there you’ll find the trailhead. The trail begins by heading south, going right up to the Edgemont sign, then switching back northward, winding its way uphill through a ponderosa-dominated forest. At 1.2 miles it ends abruptly at Nusbaum Road (N 37 19.423, W 107 47.743, 7,900 feet). You’ve climbed 540 feet.
Pioneer is probably best for a quick out-and-back. But if you hike up Nusbaum, which turns into Silver Mesa Driveway, it’s about a mile to the San Juan National Forest, at which point a barrier prevents cars from getting through. From the barrier, it’s approximately 2.5 miles to the Missionary Ridge Trail, which you hit a mile or so north of the top of Haflin Creek.
Twin Buttes trail system also deserves a mention. This area is certainly a hotspot for mountain bikers, but the 12 miles of trails—built by Trails 2000 volunteer crews—are multi-use. This marvelous system was created in conjunction with a development west of town that has been annexed by the city of Durango. Open space land was deeded to the city by the developers, and parts of trails actually wend through the subdivision or close to it. It’s just 1.5 miles west of town on US 160. Go just past the gas station on the north side of the highway and turn right toward Animas High School, then quickly turn into a dirt lot on the right to park. The lower trails are open year-round, but the upper trails are closed from December 1 to April 15 to protect wildlife habitats.
HOGSBACK
DISTANCE: 2 miles round-trip
ELEVATION: Start at 6,660 feet, finish at 7,484 feet (824-foot gain)
RATING: Moderate, due to steep finish
TIME ALLOWED: 1¼ hours
Hogsback Trail is part of Overend Mountain Park, with the top on the far west side. It is distinct enough to deserve special attention. It is the most challenging and most rewarding hike in the park. It’s possible to climb on a long lunch break.
From the top of the Hogsback, looking down at the ridgetop trail toward town.
APPROACH: Use the Leyden Street access. Reach Leyden from town by taking Twenty-Second Street west off Main Avenue. The street angles to the top of Crestview Mesa, where it becomes Montview Parkway; follow this west to Glenisle, then south one block to Leyden, and west again to the end of Leyden (N 37 17.054, W 107 53.264). Respect local residents while parking and starting your trek. As you drive up Leyden, you’ll see both the Hogsback and Perins Peak beyond it.
HIKE: Take the trail over a large culvert and follow it along a usually dry gulch. In just over 0.1 mile a trail branches at a 120-degree angle left uphill. You can take this, or you can go another 0.2 miles to a second left, which is a little less steep (N 37 17.126, W 107 53.557). Both of these trails top out to join a larger, more gradual trail that goes west toward Hogsback.
The trail twists and turns through some brush, eventually reaching open shale. The last two pitches are steep and can usually be done standing up—the shale has good footholds—but if conditions are wet or very dry, you’ll probably slide a bit. Near the top is a very narrow spot where you must be careful not to slip, lest you take a steep, unscheduled glissade in the shale for 150 feet. The steep area is on the left part of the trail; it is a good idea to hold onto the brush on the right side. On the top (N 37 17.063, W 107 53.954, 7,484 feet) at 1 mile there is a nice single slab of sandstone that becomes your reward for huffing and puffing. It is a good place to lie down and rest or to sit and study the scenery: the city below, Perins Peak to the west, the West Needles to the north-northeast.
You can return on the same route, or you can make a loop.
OPTIONS: A trail goes west off the Hogsback, and it’s really steep for the first 30 yards. It’s doable if you’re careful. Follow this trail along a ridge for a quarter-mile from the top, then take a right (east) off the ridge (N 37 17.177, W 107 54.105, 7,100 feet) and drop down a winding trail about a half-mile, where the trail crosses Slime Gulch on a wooden bridge and comes to an intersection (N 37 17.286, W 107 53.781, 6,840 feet). Take a right, and follow this trail 0.6 miles to Leyden Street. Making this loop, which is all in Overend Mountain Park, adds 0.3 miles to the trip.
PERINS PEAK
DISTANCE: 5.4 miles round-trip
ELEVATION: Start at 6,885 feet, finish at 8,340 feet (1,455-foot gain)
RATING: Moderate
TIME ALLOWED: 2½ to 4 hours
With its distinctive profile, Perins Peak is a town icon. Its top has a sharp, pointed cliff that faces east and looks down over Durango like a guardian.
It was named after Charles Perin, a civil engineer who laid out the grid for the town when it was incorporated in 1881.
You can only do this hike during one-third of the year, from August 1 through November 30. The Perins Peak Trail goes through both state (Colorado Parks and Wildlife) and federal (Bureau of Land Management) land. The restrictions are there to protect the peregrine falcon, which was once an endangered species, as well as big-game species whose young are born in this area. But this is good hiking and it’s worth waiting for the open period. Also, it has the advantage of starting right out from the city limits.
The first part is easy, but the last thousand feet of altitude gain are moderately difficult due to steepness. It is a vigorous hike, rewarding for the workout you’ll get and for the nice view of both the La Plata Mountains and Durango.
APPROACH: From Main Avenue in Durango, go left (west) on Twenty-Fifth Street. After 0.5 miles, or two blocks past Miller Middle School, take a left onto Clovis Drive. At 0.9 miles Clovis continues into the Rockridge subdivision and becomes Rockridge Drive. Go up this drive and, just before reaching the end, go right briefly on Tanglewood and take another quick left that takes you back to a parking area.
HIKE: Locate the trailhead at a gate (N 37 18.394, W 107 53.809, 6,885 feet) and begin the hike. You’ll quickly come to a fork. Take the path left, crossing Dry Gulch. The path right is the Dry Gulch Trail. The north massif of Perins looms above. You could also climb this, but this trail description is of the east massif overlooking town.
In 1.3 miles the climbing begins in earnest, and the trail switchbacks up the mountain. At 2 miles the trail has basically reached the mesa top, although it still climbs gently.
Reach an old road at 2.2 miles and go left (east) on it, steeply uphill again (N 37 17.475, W 107 55.341, 8,000 feet). Reach the high point of the climb at 2.7 miles (N 37 17.435, W 107 54.992, 8,340