Deer Creek Trail lies along the Continental Divide of the Americas, part of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the White River National Forest, Summit County. Deer Creek Trail is south of Colorado Highway 6, east of Keystone Resort and near Montezuma. Wildlife in the area includes mountain goat, pika,

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

or mountain lion, mule deer,

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, marmot,

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

, ptarmigan,

American red squirrel The American red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') is one of three species of tree squirrels currently classified in the genus ''Tamiasciurus'', known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, ''T. douglasii'', and the sou ...

, and Canada jay. Wildflowers that bloom in the tundra area on the Continental Divide of the Americas include moss campion ('' Silene acaulis''), alpine forget-me-not ('' Myosotis alpestris''), sky pilot ('' Polemonium viscosum''), sea pink, old-man-of-the-mountain (''

Rydbergia grandiflora ''Hymenoxys grandiflora'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names graylocks four-nerve daisy, graylocks rubberweed, or old man of the mountain. It is native to high elevations in the Rocky Moun ...

''), and mountain gentian ('' Gentiana''). In the Deer Creek Valley, below the tree-line, the blooms of monkshood or wolfsbane, blue columbine, fireweed, and paintbrush ('' Castilleja'') can be found. The Deer Creek valley is an open willow-filled meadow surrounded by lodge pole pines and the barren rock face of Glacier Mountain along the western slope. From the base at 10,500 feet, the trail rises to about 12,200 feet at the junction with the Radical Hill Jeep Trail to the east and the Middle Fork Road to the Swan River heading west. Saints John Road crosses Glacier Mountain to the northwest, with the Gore Range forming the distant horizon. Deer Creek Trail ascends east to the spine of Teller Mountain at 12,615 feet, joining the Continental Divide Trail. Park County lies to the south along the North Fork of the South Platte River. Red Cone, 12,801 feet, stands to the east. Webster Pass Road descends from 12,100 feet into mining ruins within Handcart Gulch, immediately west of Red Cone. The twin peaks of Grays and Torreys form the northern line of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

at the edge of

Clear Creek County Clear Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,397. The county seat is Georgetown. Clear Creek County is part of the Denver metropolitan area. History Clear Creek County wa ...

. The surrounding area is pocked with abandoned silver and gold mines from the nineteenth century. Toxins continue to poison the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

below Deer Creek, making portions of the stream uninhabitable by trout. The abandoned Pennsylvania Mine is being studied by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Deer Creek provides essential flows of pure water to dilute existing mine pollutants. The Montezuma Loop Trail is a jeep road and mountain bike trail that encircles the Deer Creek Trail. The multi-use trail follows Webster Pass Road southeast from Montezuma Road. Montezuma Loop Trail passes beside the Continental Divide Trail and Deer Creek Trail. Then, the Montezuma Loop Trail descends north on Saints John Road to Montezuma, north of the Deer Creek Trail parking area. Deer Creek Trail is described in ''Greatest Hikes in Central Colorado: Summit and Eagle Counties'', a hiking guide by Kim Fenske.

References

Montezuma Loop trail guideScientists eye Snake River cleanupForest Service message: respect the riverFeds update plan for Continental Divide Trail
{{coord missing, Colorado Deer Creek Trail Protected areas of Summit County, Colorado White River National Forest Landforms of Summit County, Colorado