Best Hikes Near Minturn, Colorado
Minturn is the old railroad town on US 24 just south of Vail, and the gateway to the Holy Cross Wilderness: Mount of the Holy Cross, Notch Mountain, and the Fall Creek lakes all start from the Tigiwon Road above town.
Notch Mountain Trail
Climb to the summit of Notch Mountain in the Holy Cross Wilderness for one of Colorado's most iconic views: the cross-shaped snow couloir on Mount of the Holy Cross. A historic stone shelter sits at the top.
Lake Constantine Trail
From the Half Moon Trailhead near the Mount of the Holy Cross, climb to Lake Constantine. The lake sits at 11,400 feet below Notch Mountain. Famous alpine lake in the Holy Cross Wilderness.
Mount of the Holy Cross (North Ridge)
Named for the cross-shaped snow couloir visible in spring. Standard route crosses Half Moon Pass (twice: once on the way in, once on the way out), making this one of the harder 14er days for the distance.
Hiking in Minturn: what to know
Tigiwon Road (Forest Road 707) leaves US 24 two miles south of Minturn and climbs 8 miles of gravel to the Half Moon trailhead at 10,300 feet. Passenger cars manage it in dry conditions. The road is closed to vehicles every year from November 22 through June 20, so the season here is short and the trailhead lot fills by 5 AM on July and August weekends.
Two trails leave Half Moon. The Half Moon Pass trail is the standard route up Mount of the Holy Cross, a 12-mile day that crosses the pass, drops 1,000 feet to East Cross Creek, and climbs the north ridge; most people camp at the creek and make it two days. The Fall Creek trail goes the other way to Lake Constantine, a moderate destination in its own right, and to the junction for Notch Mountain, where a stone shelter built in 1924 faces the cross-shaped snow couloir that made the mountain famous.
The wilderness rules are the usual: dogs on leash, groups of 15 or fewer, camp 100 feet from water. Afternoon storms are the July and August pattern, and Holy Cross has a long history of hikers getting lost on the descent from the summit; stay on the ridge you climbed.
Minturn has a couple of restaurants, a saloon that has been open since 1901, and a Saturday summer market, but no grocery store; Vail and Eagle-Vail have those. Tigiwon and Half Moon campgrounds sit along the access road and take no reservations. Our Holy Cross guide has the full route.