The Vallecito Creek Trail begins in the Vallecito campground. The reward is Upper Slate Lake, one of the prettiest and most remote wilderness gems in Colorado. Day 1 – Lime Mesa trail head to Emerald Lake (red GPS track): Starting from Lime Mesa TH (elevation 11,500 ft.), hike north on Lime Mesa Trail (676) peaking out at 12,500 ft. with a beautiful overlook of Ruby and Emerald Lake along with the Needle Creek Valley. For a truly epic adventure, continue over Columbine Pass and make a 36-mile loop north on the Vallecito Trail and then west on the Elk Creek Trail to … The boundary of the Weminuche Wilderness is 2.7 miles up the trail, the fishing is fantastic. Seeking to avoid a descent to the loathed lowlands, we look for hope in our topos, but there is none. The Rock Lake Semi-Loop, Weminuche Wilderness, Colorado July 19-22, 2015 ... with both the starting and ending trailheads near Vallecito Lake. Head right to continue this loop. Colorado’s largest wilderness area is the Weminuche, 500,000 acres, an area so vast you can only nibble at the edges without an overnight pack and plenty of time on your hands. Parking is limited on summer weekends so you may need to park in a satellite lot and take a shuttle (or take a midweek break to avoid the crowds). In the first 2 miles you will rise more than 500 ft. above the creek with fantastic vistas, then the trail drops down right beside the creek. The Colorado house with the best holiday lights in 2020 is ... Six free, socially distanced, in-person Christmas wonderlands to check out in Denver this month. Past Emerald Lake there are creek crossings, and if it has been a wet year you will have a muddy trail as you climb up the Lake Creek drainage. The Tour of Carvings Project is a comeback story of the Vallecito community following the Missionary Ridge Fire of`2002. Turn south on County Road 5 and then take a quick right onto County Road 22 for 6 miles to the trailhead. Past Emerald Lake there are creek crossings, and if it has been a wet year you will have a muddy trail as you climb up the Lake Creek drainage. Trails 2000 After .6 miles you enter the Weminuche wilderness. It’s a seven-mile hike to the camping area, where you can attempt to summit the fourteeners. On the north end of the trail just above the creek inlet for Emerald Lake, the … “Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams The trailhead is at the Gold Creek Campground. Whether you’re hiking up to fish, set up a campsite, climb a mountain or just drink in the views while you drink some microbrews, a mountain lake is a feast for the senses. A stunning day hike, or a great four-to-five day backpack trip. Emerald Lake Loop & Mallard Bay Trails Trail Access: Humpy Creek, Mallard Bay, or Glacier Spit Trailheads Allowable Uses: Hiking Distance: Emerald Lake Loop: 12.6 mi Mallard Bay Trail: 0.6 mi Mallard/Emerald Connector: 1.1 mi Elevation Gain: Emerald Lake Loop: 2800 ft; Emerald/Mallard Connector: 500 ft Sign up for our weekly entertainment and outdoors emails to get news and weekend plans sent right to your inbox. The trailhead is on Dallas Creek Road (County Road 7) near the town of Ridgway. But hey, if it was easy to reach, there would be a lot more people up there. Folding the maps with a sigh, we turn east and pound 3,600 vertical feet down the Johnson Creek Trail to Vallecito Creek. With its century-old fireplaces and an oak bar salvaged from an 1890's Yukon saloon, there is no shortage of history within these walls. From the Bear Creek Trailhead it’s a gentle 1 mile to the lake, towered over by the massive cliff of Hallett Peak. Vallecito Creek Trail: Vallecito Creek at the ford, where the bridge washed out years ago, and water is almost thigh deep. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Adventurist, to get outdoors news sent straight to your inbox. Celestial event not seen since 1226 happening this month with amazing conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, Video shows bobcat "sashaying" into an alley at edge of Colorado Springs. From Durango, take Florida Road (CR 240) out of town (approximately 16 miles). The creek features numerous waterfalls in its lower reaches. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/pinos-river-trail-to-emerald-lake Located in the Weminuche Wilderness, Emerald Lake is an alpine lake located off the Pine River Trail near Vallecito. It is about 30 miles RT starting at Pine River Campground and past Emerald Lake. Chicago Basin is a spectacular area visited by hundreds of backpackers each year with several routes of entry. John Denver knew it: One of the most magical ways to enjoy summer high in the Rocky Mountains is at one of our amazing alpine lakes. Enjoy gentle meadows full of wildflowers before the trail gets absurdly steep for 2 miles. Pine River to Emerald Lake: The Pine River alternates between meadows and canyon, frequently flowing peacefully on the flat valley floor. From Westcliffe, take Hermit Road west to where it ends at Sampson Ridge Road, nearly 6 miles, to County Road 172. The Pine River trail itself is a 49-mile out-and-back, lined by … You’ll walk endlessly over and down forested ridges on the Gore Range Trail until the junction with the Slate Creek Trail, where the fun really starts. From the Vallecito Creek Trail, backpackers can link up with the Continental Divide Trail, head out on the Weminuche Trail or connect to the Pine River Trail and hit Emerald Lake on a loop. The San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado don’t surrender their secrets easily, often requiring multiday hikes to experience their wonders. From there a 36-mile loop crosses the Continental Divide, drops into the stunning Vallecito Creek valley, crosses Columbine Pass into Chicago Basin and runs back to the train. This was a designate horse camp and I shared the camp with a young couple. At the T-intersection, take a left on CR 501 which will bring you to the lake. The trail was not steep in this section, and we crossed the creek a couple of times on bridges. And it’s pretty easy to reach this world too, just around a mile to the lake fed by Saint Mary’s Glacier, probably the most Instagrammed glacier in the world. Head right to continue this loop. You follow rapidly flowing Vallecito creek tumbling down a narrow glacial valley; the creek is among the loveliest in the West. I didn't stay at the camping area designated for Emerald Lake (you can't camp around the lake) but instead choose a spot past the lake up the valley just before the trail starts the climb to Moon Lake. There is a slide debris pile near Rock Creek (but ok via foot). He skis 100 days a winter and writes when he needs money for lift tickets or beer. To get there, travel 15 miles northeast of Durango, where the trailhead and parking lot will be located on the east side of the reservoir. You can lengthen your trip by hiking up to the next two lakes and as high as Blue Lakes Pass, which would make for a strenuous 11-mile day. For directions to various trails and trailheads, view the Vallecito Lake Trails Map. Vallecito Creek is a perennial stream that originates at high altitude within the drainage at Vallecito Lake. The trail forks at mile 19.3 and you continue on the Rock Creek Trail to the north. Wildlife, Create Recommended Route or For backpackers, the Vallecito Creek Trail offers countless opportunities to spend anywhere from three nights or longer in the backcountry. You’ll need both to reach Emerald Lake, Colorado’s third-largest natural lake, a 10-mile trek from the Pine River Trailhead near Vallecito Reservoir. Bayfield, CO. Weminuche Wilderness Hiking. An edition of The Denver Post. Or take Vallecito Creek trail and experience the same breathtaking views. PHOTOS: There was a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event in the sky above Colorado Monday night. This lake, one drainage south of popular Mount Harvard, is a different story. Turn left on Rock Creek Road across from the Blue River Campground. Vallecito Creek Trail is a 12.7 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Bayfield, Colorado that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed for any commercial purpose. All contents Copyright © 2020 The Denver Post or other copyright holders. The Mount Zirkel Wilderness near Steamboat is a virtual no-mans-land for eight months of the year, owing to the heavy snow that falls and sticks around into late June. The turnoff to Emerald Lake is at mile 6.3 (Trail #528). After 4 miles on the trail, it reached its most popular feature, Emerald Lake. You’ll need both to reach Emerald Lake, Colorado’s third-largest natural lake, a 10-mile trek from the Pine River Trailhead near Vallecito Reservoir. Like day 1, along the lake, there were numerous trees down across the trail and made it a little slow going. You will be The Sangre de Cristo Mountains southwest of Pueblo have many, many fine lakes, owing to their jagged terrain and tight canyons that allowed lakes to form high in nearly every drainage. Just remember in federal wilderness areas only foot and horse travel are allowed and groups must be keep to no more than 15 people. Turn left and continue to the trailhead. Ice Lakes. The parting gift of the glaciers that carved up the Rockies and helped create the stunning landscape, their waters are cool, their air crisp, their views stunning, often in a low point of a valley surrounded by high peaks reflecting in the blue water. It might be the bluest water you’ll ever see in Colorado, as the lake is much deeper than many alpine lakes. Head west for 5 miles and take County Road 18 west for another 4 miles. A worthy side trip takes you to Browns Pass. Turquoise Lake near Leadville can be crowded in summer, but this easy 2.2-mile hike will lead you to a gorgeous lake where you’ll feel above it all. Trail, San Juan National Forest - Pagosa Ranger District. For most hikers, the lake is about as far north as they intend to go. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, horses, and backpacking and is best used from June until October. This gorgeous mountain lake is reached by a moderate hike of just 2.5 miles, though with 1,600 feet of elevation gain it’ll leave you sweaty. Emerald Lake - Vallacito Creek Loop 36.9 mi 59.3 km • 5,018' Up 1529.62 m Up • 5,006' Down 1525.94 m Down. But roads rarely reach such places, so you’ll need to put in the effort to get there. If you do a search online, you are guaranteed to find many blogs talking about their experience utilizing the Narrow Gauge Durango to Silverton Railroad to enter Chicago Basin, being dropped off at Needleton and a day’s hike up Needle Creek. This year we are doing Moon Lake also in the Weminuche Wilderness. Take Exit 238 just west of Idaho Springs and drive north on Fall River Road for 9 miles to the trailhead. The hike begins in a steep canyon with ponderosa pine forest, aspen and conifers. There we receive a pleasant surprise. Between June 9 and July 28, over 70,000 acres were burned at a cost of $40.8 million dollars. Reach the trailhead on Colorado 76 to the (almost) ghost town of Ohio City and take Gold Creek Road. One of the gems of the wilderness is Emerald Lake, the third-largest natural lake in Colorado, with crystal-clear waters that take on a green hue in the right light. 8/13/19; Emerald Lake to Moon Lake: Avalanche debris field with medium difficulty to navigate; Additional trail conditions websites: PagosaTrails.org. Obsessive skiers and snowboarders looking to make turns all year come here in late summer after even Arapahoe Basin ski area has closed. Freelance journalist R. Scott Rappold has been writing about skiing and other ways people enjoy the great state of Colorado for more than 15 years. From the town of Walden take Colorado 14 a short distance to County Road 12W. Vallecito Creek is tributary to the Los Pinos River, which drains into the San Juan River in the Colorado River Basin. — John Denver, Rocky Mountain High. The hike to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park begins from the Bear Lake Trailhead, located at the end of Bear Lake Road, 9 miles from the turn-off at Highway 36. Emerald Lake is an alpine lake located off of the Pine River Trail near Vallecito Reservoir. I have been wanting to do the Elk Park to Needleton semi loop from the Durango Silverton railroad stops. Vallecito Lake Event Center And keep in mind that the more remote and harder to reach the lake is, the more likely you’ll find solitude. All rights reserved. The trailhead is at the western edge of Turqouise Lake. The alpine meadows are full of blooming wildflowers of all shapes and sizes on this 10 mile hike. The trail climbs gradually as you follow Vallecito Creek north. 1st trip was in mid-July, second in late-September. The trailhead is north of the town of Silverthorne, 7 miles on Colorado 9. Spring snowslides have wiped out the horse bridge at Vallecito's southern end. 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