Pike National Forest
Payne Creek Trail #637

This 9.8 mile trail heads into the Lost Creek Wilderness, sharing part of its journey with the Brookside - McCurdy Trail. It sees most of its traffic in the spring, summer and fall and is rated as more difficult.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 8,040'
• High Point: 9,890'
• Trail ending: 9,300'

Access: In Bailey, go south for 0.45 miles on County Road 64 to a fork in the road. Bear left and go another 2.2 miles to the Payne Creek/Brookside-McCurdy Trailhead on the south (left) side of the road.

Notes: This is a pretty gentle trail into the northeast section of Lost Creek Wilderness. It starts out by going slowly uphill through Ponderosa and lodgepole pines to a trail junction where the Payne Creek Trail bears left and the Brookside-McCurdy Trail bears right. You'll cross a small drainage and then climb slowly along the west side of Payne Gulch to the wilderness boundary. The trail then follows an old logging road steeply up the hill and into a large aspen grove near the top of the ridge. It then crosses the ridge and drops into open meadows along Craig Creek. Eventually, the trail will cross to the south side of Craig Creek and keep on to the southeast until just past Bluestem Draw where you'll cross another small drainage and begin the climb out of the valley to the end of the Payne Creek Trail at the junction with the Colorado Trail.

USGS Maps: Bailey, Shawnee, Windy Peak

Trail maps: North Payne Creek Trail, South Payne Creek Trail