Type: Road/Trail, Loop
Difficulty: 5 / 10
Altitude: 9,602 ft
Elev. Gain/Loss: 2,449 ft / 2,449 ft
Dog Friendly: Yes
Jog-Stroller Friendly: No
Filed Under: Hiking, Running, Undefined
From what we read (Bob D'Antonio's book Mountain Biking Crested Butte), if you can only run on one trail in this area, do this one. If you are running in the mid-summer, bring a rain jacket and your camera - the wildflowers are absolutely stunning!
At the Copper Creek Trailhead just past the town of Gothic, find a place to park your car. It will be obvious as there will probably be 10-20 other cars parked at the same area.
Start the run by continuing on the road up valley. The first 3.3 miles are quite gradual, but the gravel road becomes progessively steeper as the miles add up. The pitch kicks up a few degrees around Emerald Lake (4.8 miles) all the way up to Schofield Pass (5.3 miles).
At Schofield Pass, take a right on to some narrow singletrack marked as Trail 401. The first 2 miles of the singletrack will switchback up to treeline and across some alpine meadows to a highpoint (6.6 miles) of 11,241 ft. Now it is time to cut loose as the next 4 miles are downhill running bliss.
Run approximately 4 miles downhill and around the base of Mt. Bellview. This is when you stop every few minutes to drink in the scenery and snap off a few shots of the incredibly abundant wildflowers. The last mile or so winds down through some large stands of aspen, and the trail turns to a doubletrack 4WD trail.
At exactly 10 miles you come out at the bottom of the Rustler Gulch drainage just a few hundred yards of the main road. If the weather is turning bad or you underestimated the hill climbing, you can take the doubletrack out to the road and a few miles back to your car. Otherwise, continue running on Trail 401 - now back to singletrack.
About a hundred feet after continuing on the trail you will come to a small bridge crossing the creek. Cross the bridge and slightly uphill. At 11.4 miles you cross another stream on a crude log bridge and then continue uphill. The road turns back into doubletrack for a short while. Just after passing a house, take a right past the fence following the signs for Trail 401.
Another few miles will take you past a few small ponds and then back downhill to the Copper Creek Trailhead parking lot. Run down the gravel road another .25 miles to your car on the main road.
The run start is located just past the town of Gothic. To get there from Crested Butte drive out of town north following all the signs for Mt. Crested Butte ski area. Drive thru Mt. Crested Butte and the the road will turn to gravel. After a few miles, You will continue to drive through the town of Gothic. The run start is at the turnoff for the Copper Creek Trailhead (also marked Trail 401. Mileage and time starts here.
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