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Cascade Creek/Lamartine Saxton Trails Rating Trail Photos  Return to Trail List   
Clear Creek, CO: Trail Head: N 39?42.389', W 105?36.356'  Trail End: N 39?42.883', W 105?39.175'
Delorme CO Atlas & Gazeteer pg: 39, 6-C
Nearby Trails: Coming Soon.


Access: From Denver take I-70 west to Idaho Springs Exit 240. Take Highway 103 south out of town for 5.4 miles where you'll look for a sign for Cascade Creek on your right (N39?42.38'   W105?36.33'). You'll see the sign for Ute Creek shortly before the Cascade turn-off.




Trail: Cascade Creek is part of the Saxon-Griffith Mountain Trails. Initially, it runs parallel with Ute Creek and ends up tying into it as well. The trail, starting off of Highway 103 south of Idaho Springs, runs along Cascade Creek and has numerous places to camp and enjoy the scenery. At .3 miles you'll see a hill climb to your right, I veered left to stay on the main trail. At about 1 mile, there's a split. The left will lead to what is marked as private property (I made a call to the Clear Creek Ranger District and they confirmed that this road is public and can be taken to the top of Saxon Mountian. The area off the trail is Private, so please stay on the trail), I chose to take the right (N39?42.68'   W105?37.67'). At about 2 miles you'll come across an abandonded building and equipment. Shortly after this building, you'll hit a switchback and after it you have an option to switch back again to the right or take a more difficult looking trail (N39?42.38'   W105?37.00'). I chose the harder path and that's the only reason the trail receives a rating of 5. I'm pretty sure either route would take you back to Ute Creek. From this point on, the trail gets much rockier and narrow. You'll probably want something more than a stock vehicle. The limited-slip really helped me out. You'll encounter two rocky sections before coming across a T intersection. (N39?42.90'   W105?37.15'). I initially took a left turn here. The trail was fun and had a few small rock sections, but it ends up becoming too narrow to continue. There were however some nice camping spots. I had to turn around and get back to the T intersection and take the right option. Once you take the right, the trail gets much easier again. You'll pass another small abandonded building and then an old school bus as you near Ute Creek (N39?43.23'   W105?37.13'). Overall, Cascade Creek is a fun trail that offers a few little sections that are a bit rocky. It would be a good trail to hit before tying into Ute Creek and heading up towards Spring Creek or Georgetown. I know that there is a way to tie into Cascade Creek from the top of Griffith Mountain, but the section that I thought would lead to the peak was marked as Private Property althought there were no gates. I'll see if I can't find some additional information about that route and post it soon.
-Scott Brayshaw (5/27/00)


G.P.S. Coordinate List:
No Extended G.P.S. data for this trail is available.