Rustler Gulch Out and Back

Dogs Leashed

Features Views

This run is pretty mild in terms of elevation gain, but the views along the way of the mountains as you come into the basin below them are exquisite.

Definitely a 4wd trailhead. If you don't have a four-wheel-drive it adds several miles each way. Drive Gothic Rd to Rustler Gulch, if you have a 4wd rig, you can continue on. Very shortly there is a fairly deep river crossing, and the road is very rough in places after that until you get to the trailhead.

The trail is pretty mellow in terms of elevation gain, it meanders through fields and forests, crossing streams and downed logs. Pretty quickly you are in a basin with awesome views of tall peaks around you. You continue running along, getting closer and closer to a really cool cirque that houses Precarious Peak and several other cool mountains. The trail offers exceptional views of these peaks for a good portion of the run.

The endpoint on this trail is right by a small creek and makes for a nice place to sit and enjoy your surroundings before turning around and heading back the way you came.

Plenty of willow bushes and a mixed forest shelter the lower portion of this trail. Alpine meadows team with wildflowers during the peak, usually in July.