Chicken Creek Trail #615

Dogs Unknown

The south trailhead for this route is located at the northwest corner of Jackson Gulch Reservoir in Mancos State Park. There is a pit toilet at the trailhead. The trail heads north passing the Black Bear Trail and crossing a broad open valley. It then descends into the Chicken Creek drainage on what appears to be the old road to Deans Sawmill. At one point, this road is blocked by a huge boulder that has slid down the hill, but you can run around it. After crossing Chicken Creek, the road mostly stays on the west side. Note that all the stream crossings on this trail are are easy runs or stone stepping under normal flow conditions.

The Deans Sawmill site has some small metal artifacts, but also portions of the firebox, boiler, and stack of a steam engine. The engine seems to have been abandoned, then at some later point it was cut up for scrap. For some reason the final pieces were not hauled off. I like to speculate that the boulder blocked access, providing us a lucky glimpse of history.

From the sawmill site, the most rugged section of the trail extends for about 1.5 miles north. The trail hugs the east wall of the valley and there are lots of rocks and roots. But there are also some pleasant interludes.

The trail turns east, crossing a small meadow where there are possible remains of a cabin. After about 400 feet there is a level area with a curious artifact. It is a small very heavy coal stove. This area is only a few hundred feet from FR561, so it is likely that a road came down into this area and there were some dwellings.

From this area north, the trail is often on old logging road grades. There are still plenty of rocks, roots, and climbs but it is generally less rugged. Rim Trail comes in from the east, and from here north the trail is open to off highway motorcycles (OHMs) so it is wider and most deadfalls are cleared. Finally, the trail intersects Morrison Trail. Turning east, it climbs to the northern Chicken Creek Trailhead which has a parking area.

Camping is prohibited within one mile of Transfer CG. Options: To the south, 416 at Doc Lowell Flats is a large area. Going north beyond the intersection of 327 and 350, there are large flat areas not far up 327 and about 2 miles up around 561D. I have gotten AT&T cell reception in these higher areas when there is none in the Transfer area.