レイク郡の湖・トップ20

That was the starting point for our trail up to Mount Elbert.

Bear Lake is a beautiful alpine lake close to the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail. There is a spur trail running around the lake. It is a great spot to spend time and is also home to brook trouts.

The more northern miles of Turquoise Lake Trail (the section past the campsites) are known for being the rootier, rockier, hillier, and more technical portions of trail. With rocky access down to the shore at the end towards May Queen Campground, the rest of this section of trail stays in the trees crossing creeks and bridges.

Buckeye Lake is a hidden gem just outside of Leadville. This alpine lake sits above treeline and views over onto the Mosquito Range. If you are looking for an extra challenge and have good route finding skills, you can make your way up the hillside and tackle the 12,871 foot Buckeye Peak directly north of the lake. You can then connect over to the Sangree Hut Winter Ski Trail and loop back down to the creek. The running once up on Chicago is great as far as off-trail running goes.

There are actually quite a few alpine lakes in the Holy Cross Wilderness, but the West Tennessee Lakes are some of the least visited. They are a beautiful collection of alpine lakes above treeline, but the primitive wilderness trail leading to the lakes can be overgrown and buggy in the warmer months when the trail is thawed out. The West Tennessee Lakes are actually a collection of three lakes. The first lake is much smaller than the upper lakes. To get to the highest (and biggest) lake, you can follow a sometimes visible goat trail and gain elevation quickly at the end of the official trail. It can be a wet journey to get to the upper lakes, but it is absolutely worth the work.

At just under 12,000 feet elevation, Saint Kevin Lake is one of the highest alpine lakes accessible by trail in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The lake is a bit off the beaten trail (There is still a trail leading to the lake from the Colorado Trail, but it is far less used than other trails in the area.) so you can expect a lot of privacy up at the lake. The last bit of trail is pretty steep, but it's well worth the power hike to get up there.

Bear Lake sits right at 11,070 feet elevation within the Holy Cross Wilderness. There are many ponds off the side of the Colorado Trail close to Bear Lake, but the actual lake is down the spur trail headed south. It's pretty rough terrain for running, but the Colorado Trail offers runnable terrain.

This is actually the site of the first aid station for the Leadville Trail 100 mile run. May Queen Campground serves as the western terminus of Turquoise Lake Trail. There is river/lake beach access from the campground parking area, and you can even walk out onto the lake in the spring when it is still frozen. The campground itself is a USFS campground with reservable sites and vault toilets right next to the trailhead.