Perimeter Trail Trailhead - Ridgway, Colorado

Mr O.

Moderate for the most part. Bring your water, snacks, hats, wear sunscreen and just enjoy the loop. There are different entry points to the loop. The All trails app says 5.4 miles it is indeed 7.1 miles I'm not sure where the disconnect in mileage is but multiple people in our group had Garmin GPS watches, Apple watches and none came up at 5.4 miles all came between 7-7.1 miles. There are sketch parts near the end of the trail as you descend towards the downtown area just be patient and hold on to whatever is available. If you don't know what a crab walk or duck walk is practice before you go will become handy. Please wear hiking shoes or equivalent you will need some mad grip in some areas where the gravel is loose. Overall a great time but challenging as it goes up and down hill for most of the trail.

Leah B.

There are some gorgeous views on this trail. There are lage portions where you're walking a dirt road with no views and in that sense, it doesn't feel much like a hike. The Box Canyon area is exceptionally gorgeous. Lots of dogs. Heavily trafficked.

Merrideth S.

WOW, what a great experience! The views are unmatched and it was an amazing adventure! We started at the Sandia trail head on Oak St and hiked counterclockwise. The Box Canyon overlook was my favorite part but the Cascade Falls are beautiful. There are lots of long uphill climbs and several areas have steep drop offs. The trail web site recommends hiking poles and I'm SO glad I had one! There are several trail heads to start from so you can complete the whole perimeter in one long hike or break it up in pieces. The visitor center has maps and lots of helpful information. If you take the trail in one loop I highly recommend plenty of water and good snacks and be prepared for immediate changes in weather. Don't forget a hat, sunscreen and good solid hiking shoes as some areas are very rocky. It's worth every step and sore muscle! I'll definitely do it again!

Richard

We hiked to the Falls on the Perimeter trail starting at the trail head across the street from the Visitors Center. For most, this is an easy hike to the falls although you do have some switchbacks on some wood stairs cut into the mountain at the very beginning. Its a nice way to see the Falls and a great view of the City. This would make a nice family hike suitable for most children.

Be sure to take plenty of water. The hike is less than an hour to the Falls but gets really hot in the summer. From the trail you can take a foot path and hike behind the falls about a third of the way up. From the falls you can hike back on the trail or walk through town to get back to the trail head parking lot.

The climb at the beginning might be a little difficult for small children. The alternative is to drive to the base of the Falls and view it from there.

Steven T.

Wonderful hike. There are easy patches, but it is definitely moderately strenuous. My 8 year old made it, but slowly and with a generous supply of coaxing. There are a number of trails that cross over to but the intersections are well marked. There are also a number of places you can park and enter or exit the trail, or do the full loop. My GPS clocked the full loop at 6.4 mi.

Weston H.

This trail is highly recommended and has some of the best views in the whole town. There are a few ways you can choose to do this as well. One way you can do the entire perimeter trail that goes around and encircles the town. Another way, which is the way I did, was to take it from this trailhead to Cascade Falls and back which I highly recommend because that’s quicker and easier and gets some of the best views of the whole trail (roughly 1.5 miles and 580ft gain round trip). If you do the entire loop I would recommend definitely bringing that some water cause I think it’s quite long.

Rachael H.

Fantastic walk. One of the best I’ve done.
We started off accidentally on the wrong track and had to crawl up the steepest hillside. Once in the trail, it zigged and zagged us around stunning scenery. Seeing the town from different angles with the ever changing mountain scape in the background was honestly breathtaking. We climbed hard yet we’re often left in awe at the beauty.
Going through the canyon tunnel was a fun surprise.

Jayme E.

Add this trail to the "do not miss" list for your visit to Ouray. It is six-ish miles of stunning views of the town and surrounding mountains with beautiful waterfalls, rivers, and mountain glades sprinkled in. Nothing too technical, lots of up with a few stretches of down that you have to take your time with (nothing too scary or hard). Honestly, this hike was the highlight of the trip for us. We started at the Old Twin Peaks trailhead on Queens street and hiked the trail anti-clockwise, exiting at the trailhead by the Information Center.