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Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Trip

RMOTHG Trip – Golden Gate Canyon State Park

This will be a car shuttle from Bootleg Bottom (aka Coyote Trailhead) on the west to the Horseshoe Trailhead on the east with a side trip on the Mule Deer trail.

Contacts

Martha Mustard
Martha Mustard
Primary Leader
  • Moderate
  • Mileage: 5.4 mi
  • Elevation Gain: 850 ft
  • High Point Elevation: 9,455 ft
  • Pace: 1.6 - 1.8 moving average
  • FULL (6 capacity)
  • FULL (2 capacity)
  • Thu, Sep 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM
  • Sun, Sep 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM
  • Cancellation & Refund Policy

We will need three cars for the car shuttle, parking one at the Horseshoe Trailhead, then taking everyone over to the Bootleg Bottom in the other two cars. We'll ascend the steep Coyote Trail and descend to Frazer Meadow where we will spend some time on the Mule Deer Trail, finally descending the Horseshoe Trail to the car parked at the bottom. This car will take the other two drivers to their cars and all three will return to pick up their passengers.

Please note that the ascending elevation is only 850 feet and the descending elevation loss is 1500 feet.  The moderate rating is due to the steep ascent and the long downhill. 

There was still some green on the aspen trees on Thursday so hopefully we'll still have some color to enjoy on Monday.  This hike is totally in the Gilpin County side of the park and there is no hunting allowed in that section.

Meet at 8:00am at the small dirt parking lot at the SW corner of Golden Gate Canyon Road and Route 93. We will require three cars (preferably with State Parks passes) for the shuttle.

Roster
Route/Place

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Required Equipment

Required Equipment

$15 annual RMOTHG Membership Dues are required to participate. Please contact the office at 303-279-3080 ext. 3 or office@cmc.org to join!  Bring your ten essentials and poles if you use them.

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