Home

Steamboat Springs — The Tepee Creek Trail ends as it begins: dead and decimated trees lie everywhere as the singletrack dips into the running waters of Rock Creek.

The four miles in between the finish and Lynx Pass-area trailhead, however, contain a just-difficult-enough hike through rolling terrain. Sections soar up along ridges, and others swing down through valleys. The trail flows along the bubbling Tepee Creek and into a collection of wide meadows, and after a hard afternoon of hiking, it can prove plenty rewarding.

Under cover

The Tepee Creek Trail doesn't offer the widest variety of terrain as far as Routt County-area hikes go. Still, there are plenty of different things to see along the way. One constant, though, is trees.

Much of the four-hour hike takes places under a thick canopy of bristly lodgepole pines and leafy aspens.

For the most part, that's a good thing, especially on a warm summer day. The sun pokes through where it can, casting a few long fingers of light through the otherwise dark forest.

The mountain pine beetle has taken a toll here, and plenty of work obviously has gone into mitigating the risk to hikers. Recently cut down trees lie along the trail throughout the pine sections of the hike. Still, for every freshly felled orange blight, several still stand, rotting in place.

The bug hasn't ruined the experience, however. About half the pines still are green and healthy and the dark, damp ground is covered with saplings racing to fill the holes left by the beetle kill.

The trail also winds through healthy aspen groves, the stark white trees growing tight against the narrow trail.

Not all the trail's fallen trees are the work of chainsaws or pine beetles, however. Neatly carved stumps, shorn to a point about a foot off the ground, stand as proof that beavers are healthy and active in the area.

Another 200-yard section early in the hike is flanked on both sides by the remnants of a massive blow down and successive logging operation.

Something different

The trail can take as much or as little time as necessary. A common turnaround point is four miles in, where Tepee Creek meets with Rock Creek. A log carefully placed over the still-rushing Rock Creek shows there's further to go, however.

Still, the eight miles to get there and back is plenty enough to wear out the average hiker, and the hike takes about four hours to complete. The trip into the forest has a few more uphill stretches, but both out and back are fairly balanced. There's nothing overly steep and no treacherous downhills, either.

There's also no shortage of open meadows, which often feature small ponds, to break up the forest stretches. The trail also crosses several small streams, and after about two miles, the Tepee itself.

The streams are easy to get across with one or two careful steps on well-placed rocks. A log makes for a handy bridge across the Tepee.

It takes only a moment of balance, and a hiker is never further than a short jump from either shore.

Near the end of the four-mile trip out, the trail intersects the Rock Creek Trail, a much wider thoroughfare. Continue past it another 400 yards to reach the turnaround.

There's nothing that makes the Tepee Creek trail a "must see." There are no fantastic views of distant mountains, towering waterfalls or vast valleys. Instead it's just a good hike, a few flower-lined miles through picturesque forests, perfect for a warm day and a different experience.

- To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 871-4253 or e-mail jreichenberger@steamboatpilot.com