Ute Trail East

The Ute Trail on the east side of the park in total is ~6.1 miles from trailhead to trailhead with over 3,300 feet of gain. However, this is very much a ‘choose your own adventure’ trail. If you start from the Upper Beaver Meadows Trailhead and go all the way to the Ute Trail parking on Trail Ridge Road, it is a difficult and at times, steep hike. If you go in reverse it’s much easier but still has steep sections on the way down. You can also start at Ute Trail parking and just go out a mile or two along the interesting rock formations of Tombstone Ridge. This trail provides lots of interesting options without some of the crowds of nearby trails.