Green Mountain Trail (Buffalo Creek)

Green Mountain Trail in Buffalo Creek

Green Mountain Trail in the Buffalo Creek system was a nice relaxing walk in the woods that couldn’t be dampened by a haze of smoke from the numerous wildfires in Colorado.

The Start

The trailhead in the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area is 5 miles into a trip on a dirt road past several camp sites and finally past the Buffalo Creek Campground. The signs to follow are for the Buffalo trailhead. The trailhead will take you onto Colorado Trail 1776 for about a half mile before you connect with the Green Mountain Trail which is a large loop.

Green Mountain Trail

First off, how many Green Mountain trails are there in the state? This one is in the Pike National forest and is a really nice walk. Your hike will only gain 700 feet of elevation in about 2 miles if you take the trail counter clockwise.

The moderate elevation gain really lends to the feeling that you are just on a nice nature walk through the forest. While the trail is relatively narrow, usually around a foot wide, it is not very difficult and surrounded the entire time by a forest of pine trees.

There is also plenty of shade on the hike which made it bearable during a hot August hike. The views that I had when I hike were unfortunately hindered by a haze of smoke from the wildflowers. If you have ever hiked in the pine area you know there are some lovely views of contrasting rock cliffs and pine covered hills. While I could still see glimpses of these views I couldn’t quite make out the total beauty of the area.

Even with the smoke disrupting some of the long distance views, the walk itself is surrounded by tall trees and plenty of birds and squirrels to keep you entertained. Towards the top of the hill the terrain and views turn a little more rocky. There are some nice rock formations to enjoy and to break up the mostly pine scenery of the lower levels of the walk. Here are some stats from the hike.

Distance and Elevation

If you don’t have the AllTrails app you might want to check it out, I really love mine. It records your progress and is a great way to search for hikes that are nearby and gives you difficulty measurements. According to AllTrails today’s hike was around 6.98 miles and had a total elevation gain of about 925 feet including undulations. That put the high point at around 8,116 feet. I was also moving for a total of 2 hours and 34 minutes.

I am a Pro member of AllTrails and love it. If you are interested in the platform, please consider using my affiliate link for AllTrails. It gives me a small commission with no extra cost to you.

Effort

Even though this was hike was nearly 7 miles it didn’t feel like much of a struggle. The elevation gains were slight and spread out and the path was really easy to handle. Here is a breakdown of my steps from my Fitbit.

Terrain

The trail is really easy to navigate. It is combination of harder packed dirt and softer forest floor. There are occasional rocks and roots but they are large and affixed. The most challenging part of the trails is that it narrows down to about 6 inches in spots and there are some ruts to walk in where the sides are angled.

Access

The Green Mountain trail can be found off of the Buffalo Trailhead in the Buffalo Creek Rec Area. From 285 you will turn south on Pine Valley Road. Continue past Pine Valley ranch park and turn onto Redskin Creek Rd. Redskin is a 5 mile dirt road past campsites. The road is in decent shape but be careful for pot holes and ruts. Turn onto Forest Road 543F and the parking area will be on the right. There are about 8 spots at the lot and a pit toilet.

Wrap up

I really enjoyed this hike but I do wish that I had come on a day that wasn’t so affected by the haze. I think it would have been more enjoyable with clear views of the surrounding hills. As far as nature walks through the forest go, this was a good one. I couldn’t actually believe that it was nearly 7 miles. Without a huge elevation gain this walk just seemed to fly by. It was one that felt more like floating through the trees than really working hard. I am going to list it as moderate for the length and the drive on the long dirt road to get to the location. It really was a great relaxing walk in the woods though and I can’t wait to do it again without the haze.

I have added this hike and all of my hikes on my interactive map section that you can find here. If you have a suggestion for a new hike or any comments feel free to email me at fatmanilittletrails@gmail.com or you can follow me on any of the below social media platforms. Happy Hiking!