Gianttrack Mountain

Overview

Like nearby Eagle Cliff, Gianttrack is a small mountain that has good views of the Estes Park area.  It lies north of Rams Horn Mountain between Colorado 66 and Marys Lake Road.

Gianttrack gets its name from tracks seen by early settlers on the mountain. They originally believed the tracks could be from Sasquatch or something similar. As it turns out, the tracks were Native American snowshoe tracks.

Gianttrack’s summit is on a small parcel of Forest Service land, surrounded by private property.  To get to the summit legally, you’ll need permission from someone. You might try a dirt road crossing the saddle between Gianttrack and Rams Horn. That road is private and lies on private land, and I don’t know who owns it. We didn’t do that.






One easy, legal option is to pay for a horse ride. The Glacier Lodge stables offer three-hour rides that stop only a 10-15 minute hike below the summit. From there, the trail curves around the summit block to our left. As the trail fades, you will see occasional cairns to guide you on a light bushwhack to the summit.

Another option would be to hike the many horse trails above the stable. The horse trails are very busy in summer and you probably don’t want to hike them even if you can get permission. In the off-season, you might ask the Glacier Lodge stables for permission to hike their trails.

Getting There

Take Colorado 66 out of Estes Park a few miles to Glacier Lodge (on the left) for the horse trail network.

Route

Red Tape

Private property is a major challenge, see the main text.

When to Climb

Should be feasible year-round.

Camping

Estes Park has many private campgrounds, and Rocky Mountain National Park has several campgrounds nearby.

External Links

Images

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