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DESTINATIONS
Snowshoeing Central
CMC South Trail
The CMC South Trail was cut as a ski-touring trail in the 1970s by volunteers from the Colorado Mountain Club's Boulder Group, and it is arguably the single most popular trail in the most popular Front Range system. From a trailhead that also starts at the Red Rock Lake winter closure, it parallels (but is rarely in sight of) the unplowed vehicular road to Brainard Lake and therefore has a sense of winter wilderness, albeit a heavily used wilderness. With the development of a snowshoeing-only alternative to the CMC South Trail, snowshoeing use will certainly diminish and may eventually be prohibited on this trail.
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| CMC South Trail |
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 | Starting elevation: 10,060 feet
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| Highest elevation: 10,380 feet
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| Elevation difference: 320 feet, but many small rises and drops
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| Distance: 2.5 miles (one way, to the west end of Brainard Lake)
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| Difficulty: Moderate
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| Avalanche hazard: None
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Begin south of the road, as if going to the Lefthand Reservoir Road. You will see the well-marked CMC South Trail almost immediately on your right (west). This is the first of two CMC South trailheads (the second is farther along the Lefthand Reservoir Road, also to the right). Take this trail west into the woods, ascending a short, somewhat steep section. It quickly levels out, and you'll soon fall into an easy rhythm on the narrow, well-contoured trail, which from then on plays like a symphony of mostly tame ascents, little drops, and flat sections. Because of heavy use, this is an area where snowshoers should be particularly careful not to tramp the fresh ski tracks after a snowfall. Once the weekend snowshoeing and skiing masses arrive, however, this courtesy becomes irrelevant as the trail quickly turns into a single trough. The main challenge then becomes dealing with people. Snowshoers and skiers of different speeds and ability levels leapfrog along the trail, with snowshoers moving well on the uphill and fast skiers dusting everyone on the descents.
CMC South undulates prettily through the woods, which open periodically into small clearings and larger meadows, occasionally with views. At about 2 miles is a view down to the right toward Brainard Lake. You then pass several old chimneys, signaling that you are abreast of the western end of the lake, a good spot for a rest stop or turnaround. The trail actually continues a short distance to the road, which goes completely around the lake.
If You Want a Longer Hike
If you want to continue to Brainard Lake, take the cut-off down a short, sharp descent to another open meadow and continue northwestward to the unplowed road along the western end of the lake to make a loop (see the Brainard Lake Loop) via the Waldrop Trail. Note that Little Raven, which is also accessible here, is now a skier-only trail.
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© Article copyright Fulcrum Books. All rights reserved.
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