Spruce Creek Trail

The Spruce Creek trail is the approach that serves half of the Tenmile Range's best-known destinations: Mohawk Lakes, Continental Falls, the Mayflower Mine ruins, and the long day up Crystal Peak. On its own it is a 4.5-mile round trip through spruce forest to Mayflower Lake and the old mine cabins, a good hike in its own right and the right turnaround for a family or a first day at altitude.

From the lower Spruce Creek trailhead at about 10,400 feet, the trail heads southwest into the forest, climbing steadily and never steeply alongside the creek. At about 1.5 miles it meets the Wheeler Trail, which crosses it; Wheeler goes right toward McCullough Gulch and left over the range toward Copper Mountain. Continue straight.

The trail meets the upper 4WD road near a small diversion dam, follows it briefly, and then reaches the junction for Mohawk Lakes at about 2 miles. Just beyond is Mayflower Lake, a small pond in a meadow at roughly 11,400 feet, with the collapsing log cabins and rusted machinery of the Mayflower Mine scattered around it. This is the turnaround for the 4.5-mile version. From here the Mohawk Lakes trail climbs steeply past Continental Falls to Lower and Upper Mohawk Lake, and the Crystal Peak route branches toward Lower Crystal Lake.

From Breckenridge, drive south on Colorado 9 about 2.5 miles to Spruce Creek Road (County Road 800) on the right, just past the Crown subdivision. The dirt road climbs 1.2 miles to the lower trailhead lot; passenger cars manage it when dry. High-clearance vehicles can continue another mile of rough road to an upper lot near the Mohawk junction, which cuts the hike roughly in half. The lower lot holds about 30 cars and fills by 7 AM on summer weekends; parking along Spruce Creek Road is not allowed, so a full lot means coming back later or another day. There is no toilet or water at the trailhead, overnight parking is allowed only with a Francie's Cabin reservation, and the road is closed to vehicles from November 23 to May 20 or until it dries. No fee or permit.

Dogs are allowed; the trail is outside the wilderness, so voice control rather than a leash is the rule, though the lakes above are busy enough that a leash is polite. The Mayflower Lake turnaround is fine for kids; the climb past Continental Falls is steep, rocky, and exposed in a couple of spots and better for older ones. The trailhead is at 10,400 feet, so drink early. The mine cabins are on Forest Service land and are slowly collapsing; look, do not climb. Breckenridge is 10 minutes away with every service, and the Breckenridge hikes page lists the rest of the Spruce Creek and McCullough Gulch trails.