Pine Forest - French Pass Trail

9.7.2013

Directions:

From Denver go south US Highway 285 over Kenosha Pass, take County Road 35 north from Jefferson to County Road 54 (Michigan Creek Road) and continue toward Georgia Pass.  Drive just over two miles past Michigan Creek Campground then you will see a flat area for you to park here. The trail head is somehow hidden but there is a small sing - Trail 651 on the left. No facilities available here. If you need to go to restroom, stop by at Jefferson before you turn to County Road 54. There are two mobile toilets behind the shops.

Start Elevation: 10,600

End Elevation: 12,046

Distance: ~7 miles round trip

Parking area

Nobody really knows the exact length of the trail. You may find varying numbers between 6 – 8miles round trip from different websites. I will take the median and give it 7.  The first half of trail is shady and easy. There were many mushrooms along the trail. If you are a mushroom expert, you can easily find enough mushrooms for your dinner. The second half can be considered as a cardio hike but still not too bad. The summit provides marvelous views of Boreas Mountain, Volz Mountain, French Gulch and Mount Guyot.    

Tons of Mushrooms along the trail

The trailhead sign - only visible after you stepped into the forest - take the one on the right

This is the only stream I saw along the trail

The climb begins after passing the meadow 

Almost vertical climb 

the flat area before reaching the summit

The small snow area before the summit

The end of the trail

the view from the summit

The view from the hill on the left of the summit