Onahu Creek–Long Meadows Trail

Onahu Creek–Long Meadows Trail is an out-and-back from Onahu Creek Trailhead to an open meadow beyond Onahu Bridge. The full mapped route is 8.7 miles round trip: the app line follows the 4.3-mile corridor once, then you return the same way. Allow about five hours for the high-elevation climb and the less obvious upper path. Other mileage estimates are shorter; this total follows the mapped Long Meadows segment to its upper end. If you want a clearer, shorter objective, turn at Onahu Bridge for about 5.8 miles round trip.

The walk begins gently, then climbs on switchbacks, with small stream crossings along the creek. The maintained lower trail moves through mixed forest, with stretches beside water and a meadow mostly screened by trees. At 2.9 miles from the trailhead, Onahu Bridge is the junction for Long Meadows; the approach has gained about 830 feet by then. That bridge makes a useful turnaround if you do not want to continue into the faint upper route.

Past the bridge, leave the route toward Green Mountain and follow the Long Meadows line. The upper trail climbs steep switchbacks to a small pond, then levels beside the creek before the meadow opens. Its tread is faint, and current maintenance of the upper segment is not documented. The exact point where hikers turn around in the meadow is not clearly fixed; this map follows the full named segment to its mapped end. Expect more route-finding and a creek crossing, not a well-marked walk.

A roadside opening at the start looks across US 34 toward forest affected by the 2020 East Troublesome Fire. Farther in, the creek and meadow are the main payoff; at the opening, keeping some water in the foreground helps show the transition from trees to open grass. Pets are prohibited on all Rocky Mountain National Park trails.