Caton Lake Trail

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

The first 9 miles of this trail are a non-motorized route and the last 3 miles are open to motorcycles so this means that the first 9 miles are on a three year rotation for trail clearing and the last 3 miles are cleared about once a year. The trail conditions are a good thing to keep in mind when riding this trail.

The trailhead for this trail starts a ways up FS410 and on some maps there is an old trail segment before the trailhead. This old segment is not maintained and not recommended. Once at the trailhead you'll be treated to a nice trail. The first 3/4 of a mile of trail sees the most traffic since it goes to Rainbow Lake. The lake is certainly worth the short detour for fishing or sightseeing.

Once beyond the lake you'll continue a moderate ascent to the pass overlooking the lake. Once over the pass you'll descend into a creek bottom and into a number of meadows. Beware, as the trail can be faint in the meadows depending on the time of the year. The trail remains gradual with a short up to a large meadow before descending to Caton Lake. Once at the lake, take in the remote valley before picking your way through the meadows to where the trail becomes a motorcycle trail. From this point the tread will see more use again as you ascend some switchbacks as you leave the valley with Caton Lake. You'll gain another ridge as you head towards the Indian Ridge trail. The trail ends at the Indian Ridge trail.

This is an extremely remote area so make sure that you are prepared. There are possible route options here, but many are quite large so it would be good to start with an out and back on this route to get a feel for the area.