Carbonate Creek Trail – Marble
Wild geranium on the Carbonate Creek Trail
One thing about Colorado’s backcountry: You can always find a new trail to hike. Today we drove up to the town of Marble, figuring we’d go for a mellow walk then hit Woody’s Cook Shack for lunch.
I’d been wanting to hike the lower part of the Carbonate Creek Trail since our son had been up there with the Forest Service doing some sign work last summer. It’s an interesting trail, as it’s the only totally public access to a vast region of backcountry that’s otherwise blocked off by private land north of Marble.
The hike starts in this improbable location, off the intersection of Second and Silver streets. A sign here said 'Not a Private Drive' and was probably placed by locals not wanting the property owner on the public road trying to shut off access. I wouldn't be surprised to see the sign gone next time we're there, but walking the road which looks like a driveway will still be legal.
Carbonate Creek turned out to be everything you want from a moderate hike. The angle is designed for horses, so it’s not too steep. Tread surface is mostly on the smooth side, so you can look at the views without tripping on rocks. Good vistas abound, including an interesting angle on the town as well as numerous peaks of the Raggeds range jutting up to the south and southwest.
Best way to start the Carbonate hike is to park anywhere legal on the east side of Marble (designated parking is not obvious, but if you don’t see a “No Parking” sign, generally you’re ok so long as you’re not blocking someone’s work or driveway) and walk Main Street to East Second, which you take north for a short distance to Second and Silver streets, where you continue north on what looks like a driveway but is actually public access. A few signs here and there indicate the trail location, but these have a way of changing in this small town of locals with many opinions on where they want signs, what they want such signs to say, and where they think the trail should go (especially if it goes by their house, as the start of this one does.) The trail is generally easy to follow, though a couple of places where it uses roadbed for the route can get confusing. Just watch for the signs.
Up the trail a short distance from the lower start, another sign indicates a trailhead. Much private land in this area will probably mean the signage will never be totally clear. Just forge ahead.
View from Carbonate Creek Trail is sweet. In this photo, looking soutwest at the Ragged Mountains.
Carbonate Creek trail easily divides itself into two parts. The first section is around 1 1/2 miles long and ends at the point where the trail crosses Carbonate Creek. After the spring runoff quits you can cross here by rock hopping and perhaps getting your feet wet. Horses have an easy time of it no matter what the season. Sometimes a footbridge exists, but it may be broken or missing. Thus, the easy day hike ends here. If you continue, the trail takes you into a more backcountry setting and eventually loops around to the north of Mount Daly. If you choose to continue, be prepared for core wilderness travel. Today we turned around at the creek crossing as we didn’t like the looks of the broken footbridge, and we were up for a shorter hike due to concerns about the weather.
