Spring Creek Trail

Park Range • Steamboat Springs, Colorado

easyout and back

3.5

Miles

400

Elevation Gain (ft)

Hours

7,400

High Point (ft)

Overview

Spring Creek is Steamboat's in-town trail: a shaded canyon that starts a few blocks from Old Town and climbs gently along the creek, crossing it on a series of bridges, for 5 miles to the Dry Lake campground on Buffalo Pass Road. The lower 1.75 miles make an easy family walk, and the whole thing is one of the most popular mountain bike descents in the valley, which shapes when to hike it.

Trail Highlights

Downtown Steamboat trail

Multiple stream bridges

Family-friendly

Mountain bike shared

The Route

From the trailhead at the top of the Spring Creek neighborhood, the trail follows the creek into the canyon under aspen and cottonwood, level and wide at first. Bridges cross the creek repeatedly, and small ponds and a pair of reservoirs along the lower section give kids something to stop for. The city's section runs about 1.5 miles, climbing gently, and the meadow and bridges near its end are the turnaround for the 3.5-mile round trip.

Beyond the city land the trail enters the national forest and climbs more steadily up the canyon, still along the creek, for another 3.5 miles to the Dry Lake trailhead on Buffalo Pass Road at about 8,100 feet. That makes a 10-mile out-and-back, or a one-way with a car at the top.

Getting to the Trailhead

From downtown Steamboat, take 3rd Street north to Fish Creek Falls Road, then Amethyst Drive to the Spring Creek Park trailhead at the end of the neighborhood, about a mile from Lincoln Avenue. Parking is on the street and limited; the city bus stops nearby and many people walk or ride from town. The upper trailhead is at Dry Lake on Buffalo Pass Road (County Road 38), 4 miles up from Strawberry Park Road. No fee or permit.

Best Time to Hike

The canyon is shaded and low, so the trail opens by late April and stays good into November, with the aspen turning in the third and fourth weeks of September. Summer afternoons bring mountain bikers downhill in numbers; mornings are quiet. The trail above the hiking gate, about 1.5 miles up, is closed December 1 through April 15 to protect elk winter range, and the city closes the lower section when it is muddy in spring. In winter the lower trail is packed and walkable, and it is a popular snowshoe and fat-bike route.

🌸spring

☀️summer

🍂fall

Good to Know

Dogs are allowed on leash, and the city enforces it on this trail. The lower section is as kid-friendly as trails get: flat, shaded, bridges, ponds. Bikes have the right of way on some sections and hikers should walk on the uphill side and listen; the downhill traffic is fast in the afternoon. Moose use the creek bottom, especially in the upper canyon. There is a toilet at the lower trailhead. Fish Creek Falls is 10 minutes away by car, and the Steamboat Springs hikes page lists the rest of the town trails.

Sources

Figures and access details on this page were checked against these pages on 2026-09-04. Conditions change; confirm with the managing agency before you go.

Who to call

Conditions, closures, permits, and anything left behind on Spring Creek Trail.

Managed by: Parks and Recreation, City of Steamboat Springs
(970) 879-4300 (Steamboat Springs) · website
Lost and found, non-emergency: Routt County Sheriff's Office
(970) 870-5563 (lost and found), non-emergency (970) 879-1090 · website
Found property goes through the Property and Evidence Division.
Emergency: 911. Cell coverage is patchy on most of these trails; a text to 911 can get through where a call cannot.

Numbers checked 2026-10-04. Colorado United is an independent guide, not the land manager; wallets, keys, and dogs found on the trail go to the offices above.