One of the biggest problems every long-distance hiker encounters on the trail is figuring out where to resupply during their hike. All the trail towns seem identical when you’re planning everything back at home. You’ve never been to any of the places. How exactly are you expected to know which towns are worth stopping in on your journey? There are so many questions swirling in your head:
- Which towns are easiest to get to/from?
- Do they have an actual grocery store or something more akin to a convenience store?
- Will they carry foods to meet my dietary needs and/or current food cravings?
- Do any of the restaurants have giant hiker-sized portions?
- Are the towns hiker-friendly or are the hotels going to assume I’m just smelly and homeless?
Luckily, thru-hikers are ridiculously transparent in their opinions about which towns are true gems and which ones are less than accommodating. During my Colorado Trail thru-hike in 2024, I stopped in six towns to resupply (and my trail family members stopped in two more). So, here’s an overview of what I think you should know before you set out on your own CT adventure.
(Note: all distances are for a southbound hike starting in Denver and heading to Durango)
The first 100 miles
There are two trains of thought when it comes to the initial 100 miles of the Colorado Trail:
- Option 1: Push all the way to the Gold Hill Trailhead (mile 102), where you can take the free shuttle bus into Breckingridge or Frisco to resupply in those bigger towns; or
- Option 2: Give your body a break during the first week on trail and just quickly pop into one of the small mountain towns between Denver and Breckenridge.
I went with option 1 and didn’t do my first resupply until Frisco on day 6 of my thru-hike. However members of my trail family went with option 2 and provided me with their thoughts on the two towns they stopped in.
Bailey (mile 40)
The small town of Bailey is where my pals Puff Puff and Sing Song did their inital resupply after two days on trail. Bailey sits approximately 8 miles north of the trailhead where the CT crosses FR-560. The trailhead on a forest road, but it is frequented by mountain bikers and day hikers, so getting a hitch to town is possible even on weekdays. Once in town, there’s a post office; a handful of restaurants and a brewery; and a small, but expensive market (where a small fuel canister will cost you $10). If you want to go light during the first days of adjusting to the elevation, this is a viable place to stop.
Jefferson (mile 71)
My pals Indy and Squirrel waited 30 more miles to do their first resupply in Jefferson. Jefferson sits just 4.5 miles south of the Kenosha Pass trailhead, and US-285 provides hikers with plenty of traffic to hitchhike to/from town. Unfortunately, Jefferson is merely a few businesses sitting alongside the highway. The town’s post office closed two years ago, but there’s just a tiny market and the Hungry Moose Cafe (which is very hiker-friendly and tasty). But if you need more options, you can always hitch 15 miles further south to the larger town of Fairplay.
Frisco/Breckenridge (mile 102)
Frisco was my first resupply stop on the CT, and possibly further than many hikers are willing to wait until their first town stop. The Gold Hill Trailhead sits on Highway 9 halfway between the resort towns of Breckinridge and Frisco. Summit County runs a free shuttle bus between the two towns with bus stop at the trailhead. My trail family and I opted to head to Frisco for our resupply as it has a Safeway, Whole Foods, and Walmart; lots of restaurants and a brewery; hotels; and a laundromat. I stayed the night at the Grand Hotel on the north end of town, which also had laundry facilities and was easily walkable to everything I needed.
HOly Cross & Mt Massive wilderness
The next 75 miles – between Frisco and Twin Lakes – is where the Colorado Trail starts to become more difficult. The trail heads further west into the Rocky Mountains and the terrain becomes more rugged. Nonetheless, this stretch of the CT was when my pack was at its lightest because of a handful of convenient resupply options.
Copper Mountain Ski Resort (Mile 118)
Copper Mountain Ski Resort sits directly on the trail. While I wouldn’t recommend resupplying here, it is an easy place to stop if you’re looking for a hot meal, a small (and very expensive) convenience store for snacks, Starbucks, or an ice cream shop. More importantly, some hikers use Copper Mountain as their opportunity to slack pack over the 10-Mile Range before taking the free shuttle bus back to Frisco for a second night in town. Given the ease of public transportation, this can be a good option for hikers contending with injuries or needing a respite from their heavy pack.
Leadville (Mile 142)
Leadville was my second resupply on the Colorado Trail and an easy hitch from the Tennessee Pass trailhead. The town sits 9 miles south of the trail and is popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and ultrarunners (the Leadville 100 ultramarathon and Leadville 100 MTB race takes place here in mid-August). The town has a Safeway grocery store, and plenty of small restaurants, along with the infamous Melanzana store. There are a handful of hotels in town, but the real gem is the Inn the Clouds Hostel & Inn, which caters to hikers and bikers on Colorado Trail, CDT, and Collegiate Peaks Loop.
Twin Lakes (Mile 176)
Pretty much every hiker on the Colorado Trail will resupply in Twin Lakes, as this is the start of the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. The town consists of the Twin Lakes General Store and a few food trucks. Hikers can also walk right into Twin Lakes. The town is 1.3 miles west of the trailhead on Highway 82, or your can detour directly there via the Twin Lakes Trail during your descent. The General Store is stocked with hiker-friendly foods, but it is expensive. Moreover, there is no post office in this tiny town (population: 348). The General Store holds packages for hikers though, so many thru-hikers (like me) will opt to mail themselves a resupply box, and supplement with snacks and other goodies from the General Store.
THe CollegiateS
Resupply for the next 75 miles of the Colorado Trail following Twin Lakes will generally depend on whether you opt to hike the Collegiate West or the Collegiate East route. The Collegiate West follows the CDT and keeps hikers up at higher elevations with grander panoramic views. The Collegiate East follows the original Colorado Trailis and is generally considered the safer route during bad weather windows because it often remains at elevations below treeline.
Buena Vista (Mile 215)
Resupplying in Buena Vista is only a realistic option for hikers taking the Collegiate East route. Buena Vista is just 7 miles from the Silver Creek Trailhead (FR-365) on the Collegiate East, but is a pretty difficult 18-mile hitch from Cottonwood Pass on the Collegiate West. As a result, I did not go into Buena Vista during my hike, and one of my pals on the Collegiate West ended up calling the Buena Vista post office to ask them to bounce his resupply box forward to a more accessible town.
Salida (Mile 250)
The town of Salida is a major resupply stop for most Colorado Trail hikers regardless of which route they take through the Collegiates. Salida is located 22 miles from Monarch Pass (Collegiate West) and 13 miles from the trailhead on Highway 50 (Collegiate East). There is plenty of road traffic to provide rides to/from both trailheads as this is the main travel corridor between Colorado Springs and Gunnison. Salida has a Walmart a few miles outside of town, but there are far more amenities in the downtown area, including a Safeway grocery store; an outdoor outfitter; a post office; plenty of restaurants and hotels; and a laundromat. My trail family and I took a zero in Salida and stayed at the Gateway Inn & Suites on Highway 50. This hotel was very hiker-friendly, it had its own laundry machines, and it was close to a Mexican restaurant with huge portions.
Rio Grande Forest & The San Juans
The 160 miles between Salida and Silverton have limited resupply options as the CT heads into more remote parts of the Rio Grande National Forest and the San Juan Mountains. This was some of the most visually stunning parts of the trail, but it also came with longer food carries and fewer town stops.
Lake City / Creede (Mile 356)
Approximately 100 miles after Salida, hikers reach the Spring Creek Pass trailhead on Highway 149. This pass sits between the towns of Lake City (17 miles north) or Creede (33 miles south). My trail family and I opted for Lake City, and it might have been our favorite town stop on the entire trail. The community of Lake City seems to be going out of its way to build itself as a hiker-friendly town. They have a free mid-day shuttle between town and the trailhead all summer long, a hiker center, and the local Presbyterian church puts on a generous potluck dinner each Sunday. The town is very walkable – with several restaurants and a brewery; a local market for resupply; and a fantastic bakery. Although hikers can rent some small cabins or private rooms, the best lodging deal in town is the River Fork RV Park. For $20, hikers get a place to pitch their tent; showers with towels, soap, and shampoo; loaner clothes; and a free load of laundry. Plus, one of the seasonal RVers is willing to take hikers to/from the trailhead each morning (with a morning stop at the bakery en route!).
Silverton (Mile 410)
Silverton is the final town where Colorado Trail hikers can resupply before the southern terminus. Silverton sits 6 miles north of Molas Pass (Highway 550), and I found this tourist town to be one of the more expensive places to resupply on the CT. Nonetheless, there were several hiker-friendly amenities in Silverton, including a laundromat and public shower facilities located at Anesi Park (located directly across from the laundromat). The Silverton Grocery is quite pricey, but it does have a large patio out front where hikers can organize their resupply before returning to the trail. Hikers looking to avoid high-season hotel prices in Silverton should consider the free dispersed USFS campsites at the Little Molas Lake Campground (just north of Molas Pass).
The Southern Terminus
The journey isn’t 100% over once thru-hikers reach the Junction Creek trailhead at the Colorado Trail southern terminus. There are still some key logistics to sort out. And while the trailhead is 5 miles north of Durango, getting a hitch into town is relatively easy.
Durango (mile 483)
Once you arrive in Durango, you’ll be treated to several perks deriving from your new thru-hiker status.
- The Durango Welcome Center provides all hikers with a Colorado Trail finisher’s patch and sticker.
- The city of Durango has a free trolly that runs every 15 minutes from the downtown area to the north end of town (where many of the more affordable hotels are located).
- Carver Brewing gives CT hikers a free beer – the Colorado Trail Brown Ale.
- Durango Diner is owned and run by a Triple Crown thru-hiker, and offers CT hikers 10% off their meal.
Durango is a larger tourist town and has enough hotels and restaurants to fit any budget. The main grocery store chain is called City Market, and there are multiple locations in town. There are also two laundromats, and several of the hotels also have laundry machines for guests (including the Baymont Hotel where my trail family and I stayed).
The most difficult aspect of your stay in Durango may be how to leave town if you are flying or driving home. The Durango-La Plata County airport is located 15 miles outside of town, but there is no public transportation to the airport or car rental counter. A taxi or rideshare (Uber/Lyft) out to the airport generally costs between $55-75. There is one good option though. The Roadrunner Transit shuttle only costs $8 to get to the airport. However, shuttle reservations must be booked at least 48 hours in advance and the days/hours of operation may be limited.
Final Thoughts
The Colorado Trail is a fantastic thru-hike and fairly easy to manage logisitically. It’s 100% possible to resupply almost every 50-75 miles along the trail, depending on which route you take through the Collegiates. That said, almost all hikers will have to do at least one 100-mile food carry as they hike between Salida and Lake City.
Food resupply on the Colorado Trail is definitely more expensive than other long trails in the US, and choices will be limited whenever you get to town.
- There won’t be any discount stores (e.g., Dollar General, Grocery Outlet, Aldi)
- The bigger trail towns – Frisco, Leadville, Salida – all have a large grocery chain like Safeway
- Most of the mountain trail towns will only have small, expensive general stores.
- Hikers with particular dietary needs (or wants) should consider mailing themselves some resupply packages
I found transportation in and out of the trail towns along the Colorado Trail to be quite a bit easier than many other long trails. Colorado is filled with hikers, mountain bikers, and other outdoor enthusiasts, and there is generally plenty of traffic passing the trailheads. As a result, I never waited longer than 30 minutes to get a hitch, and I was usually picked up within the first 5-10 minutes.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Colorado Trail, check out these other links about my hike: