The San Juan National Forest announced Wednesday that the Hermosa Creek Trail, which runs from the Lower Hermosa Trailhead northwest wrapping up behind Purgatory Resort, has been rerouted, rehabilitated and reestablished.
Forest managers never actually closed the trail, SJNF spokeswoman Lorena Williams said in an email to The Durango Herald. But severe damage from the 416 Fire in 2018 left downed trees across many parts of the trail, and 2022 landslides left a 30-foot deep hole in a section of the trail.
“It was just very difficult or impossible to pass for horses, motorcycles, and cyclists,” Williams said.
The trail, which connects upper and lower Hermosa, is a single-track pathway open to hikers, horse riders, mountain bikers and motorcyclists.
Over two months this summer, about 25 people put in a total 2,700 hours of work to reroute a quarter-mile section of the trail around the blowout and removed over 200 downed trees, according to an SJNF news release. Trail crews had to use livestock to transport materials, gear, food and fuel 10 miles to the site of the blowout.
The lower trailhead sits northwest of Hermosa off County Road 201 and Forest Service Road 576 in the Hermosa Creek Special Management Area created by Congress and President Barack Obama in 2014. Much of the area was damaged by the high-intensity 416 Fire, which incinerated 54,000 acres of forest.
“Dead snags will continue to fall across the trail, and San Juan NF employees and volunteer groups are working out plans to revisit the trail system on a regular basis,” the release says. “Recreationists should be cautious when traveling through a burned area, especially in high winds or during heavy rain, and should be prepared for additional trees across the trail.”
rschafir@durangoherald.com
