1.0 mi of trail, end to end · about 450 ft of climbing · 6,808 ft–7,264 ft · native material surface · trail No. 3178 · trail class 4 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike
Picnic areas
Along the wayPeriodic Spring Picnic Site
TrailheadSwift Creek-Periodic Spring Trailhead 6,858 ft Drive there
Swift Creek-Periodic Spring Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up
The Swift Creek Trail ventures high along the north slope of the Creek from the Periodic Springs parking area. Look for hitching rail just past the vault toilet. The Springs trail, following the bottom, offers visitors an easy 3/4 mile hike to view Periodic Springs, North America's only cold water geyser and the largest of the three known fluctuation springs in the world.
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.
