Divide Creek Trail

Divide Creek Trail is a 2.5-mile one-way point-to-point spur from Red Eagle Trail to Divide Creek, climbing a low shoulder of Curly Bear Mountain. The mapped section gains about 520 feet and takes roughly 2.5 hours one way at a careful pace; that is a practical estimate, not a published time. Its length starts at a backcountry junction, not a parking lot. From the 1913 Ranger Station parking area, you first hike Red Eagle Trail past Beaver Pond to find the spur. No road exit at the creek end was verified, so plan to retrace it: the named section alone is 5 miles out and back, before the Red Eagle approach.

The turnoff is the tricky part. Beyond Beaver Pond, Red Eagle crosses a meadow and starts bending southwest downhill. The Divide Creek route continues straight along the trees, and the old road is faint enough that finding it can involve a short bushwhack. Once on the old grade, the climb is steady, but this burned slope has a lot of fallen timber; expect to slow down and work around it. Bring a reliable map and be ready to navigate.

Burned snags give filtered views as the old road gains the ridge. At the top, Divide Creek appears between Divide Mountain and Curly Bear Mountain. Small pools along the route attract birds; meadow flowers include lupine, gaillardia, and geranium. The endpoint is a rocky creek, not a developed overlook; its eroded banks make getting down to the water awkward.