Box Canyon

Total Miles
7.2

Elevation

2,938.79 ft

Duration

1 Hours

Technical Rating

5

Moderate

Best Time

Summer

Trail Overview

Box Canyon is a fun and longer single track in the San Juan National Forest by Mancos, Colorado, that has a variety of terrain and some challenging switchbacks. From the trailhead off of Forest Service Road 561, the trail starts with a series of really steep and tight switchbacks down to a walking trail. Some of the switchbacks are rocky and steep. After crossing the walking path, there is a trickier creek crossing that is 20 or so feet long, rocky and has deep spots. Next, stay left at the intersection with Coyote North Trail. Then the trail has a moderately challenging long loose climb up with a couple more switch backs, rocks and roots, and one spot that is pretty steep. It mellows out after this climb, and continues as a fast flowy trail on top of a flat mesa in wide open meadows, with a view out towards Hesperus Mountain. The east end of the trail starts descending into an aspen grove of trees with some tight turns and muddy spots. There is one really big downed log that you have to go over. Overall this is a really fun trail with great scenery.

Photos of Box Canyon

Box Canyon
Box Canyon

Difficulty

Intermediate trail with variety of terrains and challenges, including switchbacks, downed logs, tight turns, and steep climbs.

Technical Rating

5

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

The Mancos trail system is made up of several single track trails of varying length and varying difficulty north of the town of Mancos, Colorado, in the San Juan National Forest. There are several staging areas off of West Mancos Road, including the Upper Chicken parking lot, and there's an abundance of dispersed camping sites off of this road.

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