Trails from Holzwarth Never Summer Ranch

Holzwarth Never Summer Ranch became part of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1975, providing access for hikers to Mount Stratus and Green Knoll. The well-marked parking area for Holzwarth Never Summer Ranch lies on the west side of Trail Ridge Road, 7.2 miles north of the Grand Lake entrance to the park and 13.1 miles southwest of Fall River Pass. From the parking area you walk to the homestead along an unpaved road that is closed to public vehicles.

At the homestead continue walking until you reach a fork in the road. Take the right-hand fork, which is a service road for the Grand Ditch, a water diversion project in the Never Summer Range that supplies the populous but dry plains east of the Rockies. Follow the road uphill to the level of the ditch, about 3.0 miles of walking from the parking area.

The grade flattens beside the ditch, which you must cross—somehow. If water is low, perhaps you can scrounge some remnants of an old bridge and rebuild a temporary one. Or you could try leaping or wading the very cold water. From the other side, a faint path takes off straight uphill through the trees several dozen yards north of where you first encounter the ditch. Blazes on the trees as well as the track on the ground make the very steep path uncomplicated to follow up Green Knoll.

If the water is too high to improvise a ditch crossing, walk south along the road that follows the ditch. Before too long you will come to a point where the ditch is covered by rock and dirt. Cross at the easiest place. Do not try to head back to the trail. Rather, climb directly up the mountain by the best route you can find. Perhaps you will hit the trail as it zigzags its way to tree line.

Where you reach tree line, follow the least-steep route over the tundra to the top of the Green Knoll, or skirt the top to hit the ridge between Green Knoll and Mount Stratus. I recommend climbing all the way up Green Knoll, less than 5.0 miles from Trail Ridge Road. This mountain is not high, but it is well situated for excellent views of the Colorado River drainage all the way north to La Poudre Pass.

Prior to the opening of access through Holzwarth Never Summer Ranch, Mount Stratus was one of the most remote summits in the Never Summer Range. The narrow ridge, covered with loose rock, between Mount Stratus and Green Knoll now offers a readily accessible and exciting route to Stratus. There is some exposure to falling as you climb up the ridge. Be careful here; do not cause rocks or your body to bombard folks exploring in Red Gulch, on the north side of the ridge. From Stratus, if the weather is holding fair, you can climb down and back up over rocks to either Mount Nimbus to the north or Baker Mountain to the south.

Very tempting is a descent west into Baker Gulch (see below). Be warned: There is not one solid rock on the whole long slope down to tree line in the gulch. It will take you longer than you think to get down. The walk out through Baker Gulch is lovely, but the walk back along the ditch below the east slopes of Baker Mountain is not very exciting. You may enjoy this roundabout return route once; you probably will not do it twice.