Curator Trail

Curator Trail is a one-way 13.5 km (8.4 mi) climb from the signed Wabasso Lake / P16 trailhead to the Skyline Trail junction, gaining about 1,100 m. Allow five to six hours. It is a direct backcountry connection through mostly forest, with a few openings toward the Astoria River Valley. This is point-to-point, not a loop, so plan a continuation, overnight or return before setting out. The mapped line ends at the junction. Curator Campground sits 0.8 km off the main trail, and the lodge approach is described as about 14 km from Wabasso; longer 14–15 km figures include a different endpoint or measurement.

From the Parkway parking, a path climbs over low hills toward Wabasso Lake. At the signed switchback, keep left to avoid a ford, then drop toward a beaver pond. Past the lake, cross a creek near the Valley of the Five Lakes junction and continue straight. The trail rises gradually through aspen and cottonwood before narrowing into a rocky gully beside a stream. It steepens again through pine forest. After a horse gate and an old campground, the trees thin and peaks above Astoria River Valley come into view; the grade eases briefly, then gets steep for the final climb to the Skyline junction.

The route meets the Skyline around 2,210 m. Curator Campground is a separate 0.8 km spur from the main trail at about 2,070 m; Curator Lake is another 1.2 km from the campground. Those legs are outside the mapped 13.5 km. The same route works as a steep exit from the Skyline back to the Parkway, losing about 1,100 m on the descent.