Pike National Forest
Gill Trail #610

This 3.5 mile trail is an angler's delight as it follows the creek through Cheeseman Canyon below the dam at Cheeseman Lake. The trail is rated as moderately difficult and sees most usage in spring, summer and fall.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 6,600'
• High Point: 6,610'
• Trail ending: 6,610'

Access: Go to Pine Junction on US 285. Turn and go south on the paved Jefferson County Road 126 for 21 miles to the Cheeseman Canyon Trailhead.

Notes: This trail is used primarily by folks looking for rainbow and brown trout in the stream between the Wigwam Club and Cheeseman Dam. Because of the Gold Medal quality of this fishery, there are special catch-and-release regulations in effect.

The trail starts off following Wigwam Creek before crossing Forest Road 211. Then it climbs to the first views down on the South Platte. From here you can drop straight down to the river or stay on the high trail and enjoy some great views of the river and the rock formations above it. Along the way to the gauging station below Cheeseman Dam there are several places where you can drop to the river but in between these spots, you're stuck on the high trail.

This canyon is home to the Pawnee Montane Skipper, an endangered butterfly. Volunteers have spent a lot of time and effort in improving the butterfly's habitat and trying to reduce stream bank erosion and keep sediments out of the river, so stay on the marked routes only. The trail has lots of steep ups and downs on loose gravel and the woods sport a fair bit of poison ivy in the underbrush.

USGS Maps: Deckers