Entry No. 53 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: outdoor
Poplar Gulch Trail (from St. Elmo ghost town)
Almost everyone who reaches St. Elmo comes for the ghost town itself — the weathered 1880s storefronts, the chipmunks, the gift shop — and then turns around. Steps from that main street, an unmarked path slips uphill into the trees: 100% singletrack, climbing through aspen groves where the views of the southern Collegiate Peaks open up a little more with every switchback. It's the rare trail that starts inside a preserved mining town and ends in genuine high-altitude wilderness. Most people miss it because the town is the destination. Here, the town is the trailhead, and the silver-mining ruins are just the warm-up to the climb.
The move: Make the drive the date. Wind up Chalk Creek to St. Elmo, poke around the ghost-town storefronts and feed the famous chipmunks, then peel off onto the singletrack while everyone else heads home. Climb through the aspens at a talking pace, pick a turnaround spot where the peaks open up, and split a snack on a rock above the treeline before heading back down into the 1880s.
📍 Before you go "Poplar Gulch" is really one trail with several stopping points, so pick your effort. The date-doable move is an out-and-back turnaround at about 4.2 miles round trip with roughly 1,284 ft of gain — moderate, climbing from ~10,100 ft into aspens around 11,200 ft. The full trail pushes much farther (~12 miles over a 12,276-ft pass) and is genuinely hard; only commit to that with real fitness and an early start. Getting there: from Nathrop on US-285, CR 162 west ~16 miles to St. Elmo; cross the wooden bridge in town and go ~0.25 mile to the Tincup Pass road (FR 267). The final 0.2 mile to the trailhead is rocky/4WD — park low and walk up if unsure. Best season is roughly June through October; early summer snowpack can make the upper trail impassable, and high-country afternoons brew sudden thunderstorms, so summit-or-turnaround decisions should be made by midday. You're above 11,000 ft — pace for the altitude and carry water (there's none on the trail). Expect ATVs and dirt bikes on the first stretch and around town; this is shared, multi-use country, and mountain goats are sometimes spotted on the ridgeline. It sits in San Isabel National Forest (Salida Ranger District); no fee or permit is required to hike, but parking at the trailhead is limited to just a few vehicles. No facilities on the trail — restrooms and snacks are back in St. Elmo.
- 📍 St. Elmo / Chalk Creek
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Poplar Gulch / Tincup Pass trailhead, St. Elmo. From Nathrop on US-285, take County Road 162 west about 16 miles to the St. Elmo townsite. Driving through town, turn right over the small wooden bridge, then left and go about 0.25 mile to Forest Road 267 (the Tincup Pass road), which climbs steeply to the trailhead. The last 0.2 mile up Tincup Pass is rocky and 4WD-high-clearance; if you're not in a capable rig, park at the bottom and walk up to the trail.
Hours: Day-use, free. Best season: June through October (early summer snow lingers high; afternoon thunderstorms in mid/late summer). Confirm trail & road conditions before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3
last checked: 2026-06-10