Best Wildflower Hikes in Crested Butte Colorado, Hiking the Snodgrass Trail
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Known to be one of the most populated areas for Wildflowers, Crested Butte in Colorado offers some of the best hiking trails minutes from town. One of these trails is Snodgrass. Other than hikers, you’ll also find mountain bikers, trail runners, and even horseback riders. If you want to see wildflowers, well this hike is one of the best hikes for it in the summer time. I decided to hike it in the afternoon to catch the sunset at the end, and if you time it on the right night, the mountain views at sunset mixed with wildflowers are incredible. I haven’t experienced anything like it in Colorado.
In this post I’ll be going over how to get to the trailhead, where Crested Butte is in Colorado, trail information, and what to expect. Sickk lets get into it.
Where is Crested Butte and how to get to the trailhead
Crested Butte is actually really close to the town of Aspen (Even though there is no actual road to Aspen) and will be west of Denver (Around a 4 hour drive). To access the trailhead you’ll want to take Gothic Road up past Mount Crested Butte where the ski resort is, but keep driving until you see parking. There will also be signage, as you drive along Gothic road. To park, there will be a couple free day lots and parking along the road too.
Best time to Hike and Trail Stats
Late May through early October, weather depending. In the summer the best time to hike it would be mid June through Mid July because of the wildflowers. I hiked it right after the fourth of July and there were fields of wildflowers. Pretty amazing to be honest. The fall would also be a great time because of the colors from the Aspen leaves.
The best time of day is either early in the morning or late afternoon to avoid crowds and grab parking. Since the hike is longer, give yourself at least 4 hours if you plan on hiking the whole trail.
Type: Out and Back with a Loop
Distance: 5.8 Miles
Elevation gain: 1,594 Feet
Dogs allowed: Yes, but on a leash
Does the trail have a lot of Wildflowers
Yep, this trail is covered in Wildflowers from June through July, with Peak season being early-Mid July. I saw a lot of Arrowleaf Balsomroot (Yellow) and Silvery Lupine (purple)
What is the trail like
The cool thing about this trail is you don’t even have to hike it all the way for the best views. The best views are less then halfway through the hike as you make your way towards the top. Actually the top of the hiking trail has no views at all.
The trail begins and ends with a 360 scenic lookout of the town, Mount Crested Butte, and surrounding peaks such as Mt. Emmons and Teocalli Mountain. You’ll also notice horses off in the distance from the Horse Ranch down the road. The beginning part is where you will see the majority of the wildflowers.
Eventually there will be an area where the trail will start to Loop. I stayed to the right on Snodgrass Mountain Road then looped back around on Snodgrass Trail 590 on the way down. Hiking the road will take you through a wooded area of Aspen Trees until you reach the part of the trail that overlooks the ski resort and Mount Crested Butte.
Don’t feel like hiking the whole trail? Hike only to the area that overlooks Mount Crested Butte before turning around. I recommend not taking the road, but taking the actual trail if you plan on only hiking part way . If you keep going you’ll be walking through the woods with no views other then the surrounding pine trees.
The top of Snodgrass mountain will be a dead end at 11,142 feet. It’s probably one of the only hikes I’ve ever done without any views at the very top of the trail! No stress, the decent is pretty cool if you can time it for golden hour (evening).
On the way down stay to the right on trail 590 and you kind of walk through a field at one point of more wildflowers.
If you hiked this in the afternoon or evening, stay for sunset at the end of the trail and you won’t regret it!
What to pack
Hiking Boots- Shop at your local outdoor store or REI to try the boots on in person. Every hiking boot will fit differently, therefore it’s important to see which pair will be the best for your feet.
Rain Jacket- Afternoon Storms do pop up, so gotta be prepared
Hiking Socks- Stay away from cotton. I like Smartwool.
Hiking Apparel- Lightweight, breathable, and moisture wicking are what you want with outdoor clothing. Patagonia & Fjallraven make great outdoor clothing.
Sunscreen and Bug spray- In the summer there will be mosquitoes as you hike, keep a bottle of bug spray on you!
Extra Water- Pack a waterbottle! Hydroflask make some of the best water bottles as the bottle will keep water cold for up to 12 hours.
Looking for other outdoor activities in Colorado? Check out Buena Vista. It’s one of the coolest parts of Colorado and definitely worth spending 3-4 days exploring!
