Strata Strata

Hike · Coal Mesa trailhead

Coal Mesa Trail

Distance
12.6 mi
Vertical
4,406 ft
Summit
11,467 ft
Difficulty
Very strenuous

Coal Mesa is one of several upland trails inside Curecanti National Recreation Area, a National Park Service unit strung along the upper Gunnison River in western Colorado. The recreation area was established in 1965 to manage the public lands around three reservoirs — Blue…

Read the full route guide in Strata →

Sheer canyon walls drop straight into the deep green water of one of Curecanti’s reservoirs on the upper Gunnison River.
Victoria Stauffenberg · Public domain
A flat-topped mesa rises over a quiet inlet of Blue Mesa Reservoir, the recreation area’s largest impoundment, mirrored on the sage flat shoreline.
Victoria Stauffenberg · Public domain
A blocky granite cliff plunges into the calm water of one of the Curecanti reservoirs along the upper Gunnison.
Victoria Stauffenberg · Public domain
Sage-and-grass benches above the Gunnison corridor in Curecanti National Recreation Area, the open country that the recreation area’s upland trails cross.
Victoria Stauffenberg · Public domain

Plan Coal Mesa with Strata

Get today's avalanche, slope, aspect, and weather verdict for this route — plus offline maps and live crew tracking. Free on iPhone & iPad.

Get it on the App Store