Elkhead State Park – Sand Rocks Trail

Elkhead Reservoir State Park

Elkhead Reservoir State Park is located near Craig, Colorado on the border of Moffat and Routt counties. The State Park offers two campgrounds, one electric and one non-electric, boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, archery and more. The reservoir is 900 acres with a ton of options for recreation. My first visit started with hike of the Elkhead State Park Sand Rock Trail.

Getting Started

My favorite for of recreation is hiking so that is how I spent some time at Elkhead Reservoir. The first hike was the Sand Rock trail. This 4 mile trail starts off near the main park entrance and the Pronghorn Campground. There is some parking near the restroom in the boat ramp lot that leads to the trail. There is a second entrance on the other side near the archery range as well but I’ll tell it from the main entrance.

The hike starts out on a narrow trail that takes you around the campground and down near the water. The trail follows the curve of the lake and has some pretty amazing views in this early section. It is also pretty flat for the first mile of the hike. Early on the hike, the trail is narrow and is a combo of dirt and grass before opening up a little more as you get closer to the rocks.

The views of the lake are gorgeous through this entire lower section of the trail and as you start to see the rocks from a distance you can start to see how cool they will look. It was a great motivator to see the swath of sandy yellow sitting on a green hillside.

Sand Rocks

You only have to wait about a mile before you get closer to the rocks. The sandy rocks jut out from the sides of the hill or stand stoically staring at the water. The rocks aren’t huge but they are big enough to be impressive. I really enjoyed the change of terrain. It was almost like hiking a couple of different hikes. It starts grassy and flat, then gets rocky and sandy, and the grassy again for the loop around the last hill.

As you approach the rocks you also gain a bit of elevation and that opens up the views of the surrounding mountain ranges. The Elkhead Mountains have a bunch of 10,000 foot peaks that you can see in the distance across the reservoir which is really cool to see. The views turned out to be way better than I thought on this shorter park hike.

After you clear the rocks the trail will continue and do a big loop around the last hill which will take you to the highest elevation. The loop takes you down to a second parking lot, a spot where people were bringing in paddleboards (I didn’t see if there was a boat ramp or not), and an archery range that I think was on property. The trail loops back to the Sand rocks which then completes the lollipop loop when you take the main trail back. This ended up being longer than I thought but it was really enjoyable especially in the evening when the sun was starting to set.

Elkhead Reservoir

This was my first trip to Elkhead Reservoir and I really liked it. It was Memorial Day weekend and the park was crowded but there was definitely still a ton of space to get out and have some solo time. The reservoir is 900 acres and there are coves and beaches and it is really nice. All water craft, including paddleboards needed to be checked for invasive muscles but they had a really nice system for that.

People were out on the water in kayaks, paddle boards and boats. Others were fishing and the campgrounds were full. It was just a really enjoyable place to spend some time. I liked it so much on this first quick trip that I ditched my plans the next day and came back and hiked 2 more trails!

Video of Elkhead Reservoir State Park – Sand Rocks Trail

I have put this time-lapse video together of hiking to Elkhead Reservoir State Parks Sand Rocks Trail so other hikers can get a feel of what the hike is like. If you enjoy this video make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. It is free to subscribe and you will get the latest outdoor content.

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 4.62 miles and had a total elevation gain of about 266 feet including undulations. That put the high point at around 6,493 feet. I was also moving for a total of 1 hour 32 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

The Sand Rocks trail isn’t the hardest trail out there but there are some challenges. There is a bit of elevation as you get towards the rocks. The trail can also be a little bit harder to track the further you go past the rocks. Overall, I think it is something that most people will be able to handle but I will rank this as a moderate hike for the elevation.

Terrain

There are several different types of terrain on the Elkhead Reservoir Sand Rocks trail. The trail starts narrow through some grasses. As you get closer to the sand rocks the trail widens a bit and then gets a little steeper. It also becomes more of a hard packed dirt. After you get past the rocks, the trail reverts back to a narrow trail that is much more grassy. I think a pair of good hiking boots or shoes that have a bit of traction would work best.

Access to Elkhead Reservoir State Park

Wrapping up Elkhead State Park – Sand Rocks Trail

Elkhead Reservoir State Park is a gem of a state park and I really enjoyed it. Sand Rocks was the first trail that I hiked there and it was a great way to start! The trail is longer than I thought it would be, had a little bit of elevation gain and some cool rock formations. Plus, the views of the reservoir and the mountains in the distance were a perfect way to end the day. I really suggest this park if you are in the northwest of Colorado. It was really relaxing and there is a ton to do!

On a personal note, Elkhead Reservoir State Park sits mostly in Moffat County and it was my first time hiking in Moffat County. I am on a quest to hike in all of the counties and Moffat County makes it 42 of the 64 counties completed. Colorado is such a great state to hike in and I am excited to see even more of it!

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

Gallery of Elkhead State Park – Sand Rocks Trail

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