4.3 mi of trail, end to end · about 100 ft of climbing · 2,500 ft of descent · 8,750 ft–11,242 ft · native material surface · trail No. 2220 · trail class 2 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse
The Dead Dog trail begins 0.8 miles up the East Lake Creek Trail #1880 and ends after another 4.3 miles at Middle Lake Trail #2223: The trail begins in an aspen grove and as you gain elevation turns to spruce/ fir forest. As you approach the ridge before Middle Lake, the trail becomes steep.
Restrictions <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whiteriver/recarea/?recid=81113">Holy Cross Wilderness </a>regulations apply to areas within the Wilderness boundary.
The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.
