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Penitente Canyon Recreation Area

Name: Penitente Canyon Recreation Area
Rating: 2.50

Type: Trail

Length: 25.00 Miles

Elevation Gain: N/A

Cost: Free

Rating:

(2.50)3

Difficulty: 2stars

(2.17)

Solitude:

(4.00)

ADA Accessible: No

Bikes Allowed: Yes

Dogs Allowed: Yes

Interpretive Guide: No

Address: Co Rd 40G

City: La Garita

County: Saguache

More Information: More Info

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Log Entries

Penitente 3
By Blaze on 2/19/2025
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Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 2.24 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 59 minutes

Nice weather today, so my wife and I did a couple of miles looping through Penitente Canyon. Some places on the trail inclines and declines were tricky due to snow and slippery ice, but fortunately I packed our micro-spikes. That and trekking poles made it doable. It was good for Patty to get outside and get some fresh air, sunshine and some exercise to build her strength and endurance. She's a trouper!

Penitente Revisted
By Blaze on 2/10/2025
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Difficulty:

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Distance: 18.25 Miles Duration: 7 hours

I spent the day exploring other trails in Penitente Canyon. I found an unnamed ATV road not on my map and said to myself, "Ooh, I wonder where this goes..."

At 9 miles, I had to turn around because the road kept on going and going, plus it was taking me higher in elevation and making me huff and puff so my pace was slower. I did a quick reading of the Sun and realized I needed to head back. I raced the Sun the entire way back and finished just in time. 15 minutes more and it would have been dark since the days are still short.

Exploring Penitente Canyon
By Blaze on 2/4/2025
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 11.24 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 18 minutes

Our Winter has been extremely dry to date so I decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and explore Penitente Canyon Recreation Area. Neat area to go sauntering, but it's huge so I'll have to come back later and explore other trails. The trails are easy to follow and Trail Confidence Markers are placed at the intersection of trail crossings. My hike has 963.6 feet of elevation gain. There are numerous trails throughout the area, some of which are loops and others that are linear sections.