Poudre Wilderness Volunteers www.pwv.org US Forest Service Visitor Information 970-295-6700 Sept.19,2020 PublicTrailInformation:CorralCreek&UpperBigSouth

TRAILHEADLOCATION:UpperPoudreRiverArea:Drive53.7milesonCO-14fromTed’sPlacetomm69.5andturnleftontoLongDrawRoad(FDR-156),whichis justnortheastoftheBlueLakeTrailparkinglot.Thereare2trailheadsatoppositeendsofthistrail.To access the Corral Creek trailhead, stay on LongDrawRoadfor8.8milesfromCO-14,untilyougettothe RMNP Corral Creek ranger cabin, just beforecrossingCorralCreek.Thetrailheadisdirectlyacrossthe road from the cabin. Toilets are located at theLong Draw Campground, another 0.3 mile up theroad.ToaccessthePetersonLaketrailhead,driveabout3.6miles on Long Draw Road, turn left onto PetersonLakeRoad,andfollowittoPetersonLake.Thelast0.3mile of the road to the Peterson Lake trailheadrequiresahigh-clearancevehicle,butyoucanparkonthesideof theroadbeforethe"4WheelDriveOnly"signandwalkuptheroadtothetrailhead.No parking for stock trailers at the Corral CreekTrailheadoratthePetersonLakeTrailhead.TRAIL:Thesetwotrails(UpperBigSouthandCorralCreek)havewell-worn,easytofollowpathswitholdUSFSaxeblazes (typically consistingofonlya singlelong blaze) in trees along the trail and sizable rockcairns that indicate the general routewhere the BigSouthTrail passes through an open, grassymeadowandthetreadisindistinct.WATER: Abundant - The trail is close to CorralCreekorthePoudreRiverformostofitslength.

CAMPING: Camping is restricted to the fourdesignated campsites (#17-20) in the Travel Zone.Campsite #20 is close to the Upper Big South, sowateriseasytoget.NotethattheGPScoordinatesforTZdesignatedcampsitesrefertothe locationsof thecampsites themselves, not the locations of thejunctionsof theUpperBigSouthTrailwith the spurtrailsleadingtothecampsites.SEASONAL: Not accessible in winter because LongDrawRoadisnotplowed.DESCRIPTION:About0.3milefromtheCorralCreektrailhead the trail enters the Comanche PeakWildernessandtheBigSouthtravelzone.Wildernessand travel zone regulations apply to both theCorralCreek and Upper Big South trails beyond this point.ContinuealongtheCorralCreekTrailforanother1.0mile to the junction with the Upper Big South Trailcomingup thePoudreRiver from thenorth and thePoudre River Trail coming down the Poudre Riverfromthesouth.Atthispoint,youmaywanttocheckout the short section of trail to the south (right),which leads to a footbridge at the RMNP boundary.[This is thestartof thePoudreRiverTrail.This trailworksitswayupthePoudreRivertoajunctionwiththe western end of the Mummy Pass Trail, comingdowntheHagueCreekdrainage.It’sagreathikeuptoMirrorLake,whichsitsinacirquealittlesouthofthenorthernboundaryofRMNP.]Fromthe junctionofCorralCreekandtheUpperBigSouthtrails,patroldowntheuppersegmentoftheBigSouthTrailalongthePoudreRiver for3.3miles toatrail junction that leads to Peterson Lake. There are

Trail(s):CorralCreek#989;upperportionofBigSouth#944Ratings/restrictions: Hikers–EasyStockriders–Medium(poorfooting,rocky)TravelZoneCautions: MooseTypicallyaccessible:

LateJune,afterLongDrawRoadisopenfortheseason

Wilderness: ComanchePeakOne-WayLength: 5.2miles(fromCorralCreektrailheadtoPetersonLakeSEtrailhead)Beginning/PeakElevations: 10,056/10,056Gain/Loss/NetGain: 533/1,101/-568USFSRegulations: NationalForest>Wilderness&TravelZoneMap(s)-TrailsIllustrated: #112PoudreRiver,CameronPass(&#200RMNP)Map(s)-USGS7-½‘Quadrangles: ChambersLake,ComanchePeak

Corral Creek & Upper Big South: 2

four designated campsites (#17-#20) located in thispartofthetravelzone.(SeetheBigSouthTrailpatroldescription for the locationsofdesignatedcampsites#1-#16).Asinalltravelzones;campingisrestrictedto designated sites, wood fires are prohibited, andonlyself-containedchemicalstovesmaybeused.Thispatrolwill give you some great views of the PoudreRiver and the fishing can be excellent. Moose arecommonlyseenalongthistrail.AtthejunctionnearPetersonLake,gowesttotheendofthetrailatthesoutheastendofPetersonLake.This

last0.75mileofthetrailheadinguptowardPetersonLakeclimbsabout300 feet.There isa trailheadsignhere, at the end of the high-clearance, four-wheel-driveroad toPetersonLake.Camping isnotallowedatthistrailhead.If you have an appropriate vehicle, you can reversetheroutedescribedabovebystartingthepatrolfromthe trailhead at the SE end of Peterson Lake andhiking down to the Upper Big South Trail and thenuphill to the Corral Creek Trail, eventually reachingtheCorralCreektrailhead.

SpecialRegulations:

• BigSouthTravelZone

GPS Coordinates: datum = WGS84 Lat/Long UTM

Corral Creek Trailhead (= trailhead-1) (on Long Draw Road; FDR-156)

N40°31.08' W105°46.26' 434687mE 4485538mN Wilderness boundary N40°31.10’ W105°45.84’ 435280mE 4485570mN

upper TZ boundary N40°31.15' W105°45.72' 435450mE 4485661mN 3-way junction of Corral Creek, Big South, & Poudre River trails N40°31.41’ W105°44.99’ 436485mE 4486133mN

remains of 2 old cabins N40°32.84’ W105°45.80’ 435365mE 4488788mN remains of 1 old cabin N40°33.00’ W105°46.54’ 434323mE 4489093mN

jct. with northern trail to Peterson Lake N40°32.95’ W105°46.54’ 434322mE 4489001mN trailhead-2 (SE of Peterson Lake; FDR-159) N40°33.18’ W105°46.86’ 433874mE 4489430mN

trailhead-3 (east shore of Peterson Lake; FDR-159) N40°33.36’ W105°47.13’ 433496mE 4489767mN TZ designated campsite #20 N40°31.94’ W105°45.20’ 436197mE 4487116mN TZ designated campsite #19 N40°32.00’ W105°45.20’ 436198mE 4487227mN TZ designated campsite #18 N40°32.21’ W105°45.29’ 436074mE 4487616mN TZ designated campsite #17 N40°32.61’ W105°45.59’ 435657mE 4488360mN

Corral Creek & Upper Big South: 3