National and State Register

Tonahutu Creek Trail

Grand County

The trail, established in 1880, is associated with the late 19th and early 20th century resort industry around the Grand Lake region.  Like most trails on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Tonahutu Creek Trail gained popularity with tourists later than its eastside counterparts.  However, tourists were not the first people to use and appreciate this trail.  

A black and white photo of part of the trail with rock on the right and a person holding a hat and propping their foot on the ledge on the left.

Tonahutu Creek Trail

The Arapaho historically preferred the Tonahutu Creek Trail to its alternative, the North Inlet Trail, for reaching Flattop Mountain from Grand Lake.  Later work on the 13-mile trail reflects the National Park Service’s Naturalistic Design philosophy of the 1920s through the 1940s.  The property is associated with the Rocky Mountain National Park and the Historic Park Landscapes in National and State Parks Resources Multiple Property Submissions.

This site continues into Larimer County. 

National Register

Address

Rocky Mountain National Park, roughly along Tonahutu Creek to Flattop Mountain, Estes Park vicinity

Site Number

5LR.11897 / 5GA.3823