LaPlata City and Boren Creek Trail in LaPlata Canyon

LaPlata Canyon is between Durango in the east and Mancos on the west in the San Juan National Forest area in southwest Colorado. The north leading turnoff of Highway 160 is near the Hesperus Ski Area.

About 8 miles north along LaPlata Canyon Road is the historic LaPlata City site. There are two interpretive signs here describing the history of this mining community along the banks of the LaPlata River in the 1870s and 1880s. 

I started hiking from the LaPlata City site and walked about 0:15 minutes north along LaPlata Canyon Road to the west leading Forest Road marked 061 on the north side of Boren Creek. The walk along the canyon road passes several private property sites. There isn't any special trailhead parking here. The Boren Creek Trail leads about 2 miles and climbs steeply from 9200 feet to about 11,200 feet.

About 0:20 minutes of walking up the gravelly road there is a small side creek crossing and a small waterfall visible on the left. The forest here is thick Douglas Fir and Engelmann Spruce with Aspens. There are creek views along most of the trail. 

As the trail climbs three of the peaks of the LaPlata Mountains come into view. To the left or south is Burwell Peak at 12,664 feet.

To the right of Burwell Peak is Spiller Peak at 13,123 feet. In early June there is a good flow of water sliding down between Burwell and Spiller feeding the Boren Creek. Following a light snow year and warm spring, there were only a few patches of snow visible in shady parts of the forest and no snow on the trail.

I think the peak furthest north is Babcock Peak at 13,149 feet. There are four switchbacks on the Boren Creek Trail. I made it past the last one but not quite to the end of the trail. Near the top, there was more wind and the temperature was cool enough that I had to add a layer.

There were only a few wildflowers along the trail and I didn’t see any large wildlife. My upward hike took 2:30 hours and the return took 1:30 hours for a total hike of 4:00 hours for about 5.5 miles. It was 75 F degrees at the bottom of LaPlata Canyon and felt at least 10 degrees cooler higher up. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Kennebec Pass above LaPlata Canyon

The LaPlata Canyon is between the Animas Valley and Durango to the east and Mancos to the west, in southwest Colorado. There is a 14 mile road up the canyon to the Kennebec Pass and though the road starts out paved, by the last four miles it is a rough 4WD road. The north turnoff from Highway 160 is across from the Hesperus Ski Area.

The last sement of road too rough for me to drive so I started my hike about 2 hours, or 4 miles, below the pass. It was beautiful in the canyon but relentlessly uphill. The LaPlata canyon area was originally a hot mining area and there are interpretive signs and discarded relics along the way, old industry mixing in with lush wildflower meadows.

Lower down, where there are some ranches and houses, everyone seemed to have a homemade sign protesting some new proposed mining activity and they seemed quite intense about it. "Go mine Uranus" shouted one sign.

The Kennebec pass taps into the Colorado Trail, a 483 mile route from Denver to Durango. I only went about a mile on the actual trail and encountered a mountain biker who seemed lightly loaded and was stopping to walk on a steep section. I asked if he had just started on the nearby trail head, and he said he had started at Denver, about 460 miles away.

The mile I walked was to the right, or east and leads 21 miles to the Junction Creek Trailhead near 25^th Street in Durango. Turning left leads 53 miles to a crossing of Highway 550 at Little Molas Lake.

The meadows up here were as lush with wildflowers as any place I've seen, and the mountain peaks to the north seemed endless. One of the trail segments up here is also known as the Indian Ridge trail, and was used by the Utes to travel to the hot springs over by Ouray, CO. a town that calls itself the Switzerland of America.

Another trail segment is known as the Slide Rock Trail. It is possible to hike to Kennebec Pass on this trail from the Forest Road that starts at Junction Creek and continues past the Animas Overlook Trail.

A short side trail led to a small abandoned mining camp. The camp outhouse, hanging out over the edge, provided an excellent view of the Animas valley with the bustling town of Durango in the distance. I hiked in late July and didn't see any patches of snow near the trail or road. My total hike was about 10 miles.