Hiking Crawford State Park

Crawford State Park

Crawford State Park is located at the Crawford Reservoir in the town of Crawford, Colorado. That is in the western part of the state, about 12 miles southeast of Hotchkiss, 72 miles southeast of Grand Junction and 74 miles southwest of Carbondale. The park offers boating, fishing, camping, hiking, water skiing, swimming, hunting and more. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Crawford Reservoir is 414 surface acres. There are also 64 campsites split over two campgrounds. For reservations and more information makes sure to check the Crawford State Park Website.

Getting Started

This is primarily a hiking website so I wanted to focus on the hiking at Crawford State Park. There is really one main trail that is split into a couple of sections. There are also many different area’s that you can join the main trail, so your hike may be longer or shorter depending on where you jump on. For instance, there is a parking lot at the trailhead of the Indian Fire Nature Walk so you could easily just do that section if you choose.

I started the hike at the Visitor Center, which is close to the swim beach and the the official start of the trail. I then hiked all the way to Indian Fire and did that loop before heading back which turned the whole trip into a big lollipop loop that went about five and a half miles. If you have kids with you, the small swim beach might be a great place to start as there is a playset nearby and the start of the Story Time boards!

Story Time at Crawford State Park

One of the coolest parts of the hiking at Crawford State Park is a story book that is printed and posted at the beginning of the hike over several plaques. The current book is the story of “Cowboy Guss: A day in the life of Busy Cowdog”. This is a really fun narrative story that extends for maybe a few hundred yards. So if you have some little ones with you, or if you just like a good story, you can follow along the adventures as you hike along the banks of Crawford Reservoir!

East Side

From the visitor center, the trail will take you on the east bank of the reservoir. This was kind of a low key start to the hike as the best views are behind you as you are walking to the south. What you do get to see is plenty of water and it is beautiful. The path leads pretty close to the road on this early portion of the hike too so it can get a little noisy. While you are on the water’s edge, you will first pass the Clear Fork campground about a half mile in. Next you will come to the Iron Creek Campground and the entrance for the boat launch. Iron Creek is just over a mile from the start.

From here you can continue on across the entrance road to find the trail that will lead to the west side. This is also a good spot if you are staying in the campgrounds to know how to get to the visitor center and other campgrounds. If you continue, after crossing the road, the trail will swing around to the west and you will cross a bridge and then take a service road towards the other side of the lake before making a right turn to continue on the west side edge.

West Side

As you make your way around to the west side of the lake the views really get impressive. Across the lake are amazing views of Needle rock, North and South Saddle Peaks, and several other eleven and twelve thousand foot peaks. The peaks contrasting with the water was amazing and it was hard to keep my eyes off of horizon!

The west side of the lake is a bit shorter of the hike until you get to the Indian Fire Nature walk. The path is more of a service road before heading into more wooded areas but it stays relatively easy to handle. The views just keep getting better and better and I also saw several fish jumping near the shore.

At about the two and half mile mark from the visitor center, the trail will terminate at a parking area. The opposite end of the parking lot is where you can start the Indian Fire Nature Walk loop to continue the hike.

Indian Fire Nature Walk

The Indian Fire Nature Walk is a self guided loop trail that is a half mile long and has around 50 feet of elevation gain. Most people should be able to complete the walk in about 30 minutes. There is parking and a pit toilet at the trailhead if you decided to do this by itself. This is also much more like a traditional trail as far as terrain and elements. It is more of a dirt path and in the trees.

The Indian Fire Nature Walk reflects the story of the Ute Indians being removed from their native lands here in 1881 by the US Cavalry. As they were being displaced they set fire to the land which was referred to as “Indian Fire” by the new settlers trying to move in.

The trail has numbered posts on the ground throughout the half mile which coordinate with a small guide pamphlet that is available at the trailhead. The book and posts explain some of the native plants. There is even a space of old burn scar from the Indian Fires back in 1881 that is highlighted on the tour.

The Return

After the nature trial loop you find yourself back in the parking lot. If you are headed back to the visitor center, you have about two and half miles to go to finish the hike. The good thing is there isn’t much elevation gain so the hike back is about the same as the first walk. Crawford State Park has a lot of exposed spots once you are out of the trees of the nature trail. Make sure you have plenty of water and sun protection.

I really enjoyed this hike and the views of the West Elk Mountains across the lake. On the walk back, you have mountain views pretty much the entire time and it is so enjoyable. I even saw a bald eagle circling above the lake looking for some fish. Overall it was just a really enjoyable hike. It isn’t very challenging so most skill levels should be able to enjoy it, even if just parts.

Video of the Hike at Crawford State Park

I have put this time-lapse video together of hiking at Crawford State Park 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 5.6 miles and had a total elevation gain of about 154 feet including undulations. That put the high point at around 6,588 feet. I was also moving for a total of 1 hour and 53 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

Hiking on the Lakeside Trail and the Indian Fire Nature path at Crawford State park isn’t very challenging. The trail is in good shape and is mostly wide and flat. There are also plenty of places to get on or off the trail such as the swim beach, campground, etc. Parents can take a short version and just check out the story book for the first section as well. For the most part, this entire trial is easy but if you do the entire out and back it does get to be close to six miles so I will say that for some people that might be a moderate hike.

Terrain

The trail at Crawford State Park is really well manicured. It is mostly flat and wide in most places. The exception is if you take the trail all the way to the Indian Fire Nature walk. That portion is more trail like with more narrow dirt paths. It should still be pretty easy for people to handle as there isn’t much elevation change. A majority of the trail is exposed to the elements however so you will want to make sure you have sun and wind protection.

Access to Crawford State Park

Crawford State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system and there is an entry fee of $10 per vehicle for a day pass. You can also use an annual pass or the new license plate add on fee for entry. For this trail I parked at the visitor center but there are several places that you can access the trail.

Wrapping up the hike at Crawford State Park

What a lovely park in western Colorado! Crawford State Park has a wonderful lake, a couple of campgrounds and a really fun hiking trail that is pretty easy. It wasn’t very crowded even though I went on a perfect weather, weekend day. The views were also stunning. I just really liked everything about Crawford State Park!

On a personal note, Crawford State Park is in Delta County of Colorado and it was my first time hiking in Delta County. I am on a quest to hike in all of the counties and Delta County makes it 43 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 the hike at Crawford State Park