Piney Lake

Scenic Piney Lake

Piney Lake is one of the highest lakes in Colorado that you can drive to. It is near the Lost Lake Trailhead above Vail. There are numerous other trails that leave from this area, but we popped up there just to check out the views. I shall return for the hiking.

Canoes dotted the lake. Is this not a classic Colorado tableau?

There is a commercial outfitter at the lake with a limited restaurant (no ice cream!!), lodging, and canoe rentals for around $20/hour.

The Canoe outfitter

If you make the drive up Red Mountain Road north of Vail to Lost Lake, it is worth swinging by. Doing one of the trails in the area (all Wilderness) will get you there as well.

Lost Lake (near Vail)

Distance: 7 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,611 ft - 10,323 ft (max), 10,200 ft (at the lake)
Elevation Gain: 712 ft (net) 1,082 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: Off Leash

Serene Lost Lake

In my eternal quest to find Forest Service trails where we can let Ginger, the hyper one, run off leash, I discovered Lost Lake (one of the many in the state) above Vail. The route to the trailhead alone was fun as it travels up a bumpy dirt road on the north side of Vail Valley. Wildflowers covered the green hillsides and verdant meadows appeared out of no where along the way.

While mostly in the pines, the trail did contain some Aspen

Heartleaf Arnica and Lupine

The trail itself traverses a ridge covered in Ponderosa Pines and occasionally Aspen. Having never done the trail before I was fearful there would be no views but this is not true. At 1.8 miles, there is a social trail heading off to the right with deep-sigh views of the Mount of the Holy Cross. It looked much larger from this vantage point than it did from Game Creek, which I found very interesting because I could see the Game Creek area across the valley. A little farther up the main trail, and there is an area of clear cut that also allows you this view.

A blanket of Heartleaf Arnica

Looking southeast at the Mount of the Holy Cross

I was enthralled by the carpet of Heartleaf Arnica and Lupine that blanketed the stark forest floor with blinding color. With all that yellow, the dead Ponderosas were hardly noticeable. My Id wanted to romp through them with wild abandon, but alas I figured the sight of a middle-aged woman frolicking in flowers would scare the local wildlife.

A trail segment after the big views showing a young pine forest

Two trail segments showing the pine forest and easy-going dirt trail

There is a small (200 ft elevation gain) hump in the middle of the trail. The descent from this small hill provides phenomenal views of the back side of the Gore Range. That was another pleasant surprise.

The view of the Gore Range from part-way down the small hill

The turn off to the lake

The lake itself does not have any dramatic background, but it was incredibly serene. There were large logs to sit on and eat lunch, and the seclusion was only marred by the occasional Jay trying to get to our sandwiches.

Views of Lost Lake

All in all, Lost Lake is a pleasant excursion particularly on a day when getting above treeline is problematic. That was another reason I chose this trail. The storms were going to start early. If you do go to Lost Lake, be sure to take the additional 15 minute drive and visit Piney Lake. The scenery there will knock your socks off.

Lost Lake Snowshoe

Distance: 6 miles round trip (from winter trail head)
Elevation: 8,810ft-9,780ft
Elevation Gain: 940 ft

Lost Lake

Lost Lake is a popular, close to Denver, snowshoe that won't take you all day to get to or to complete. The route can be confusing, however, because all the guide books indicate that it is six miles but when you look on a map you see that it is only 2 miles round trip from the official trail head. This confusion results from the fact that they do not plow the road past the town of Eldora and the winter route is measured from the berm where the plows stop. Some brave folks drove over this berm, but we decided to park in the plowed zone.

Just past the berm, heading up the road to Hessie

The well tracked intersection of the Hessie and 4th of July roads

It is not nearly as monotonous as one would think walking up the snowy road. The views are open and there are several obvious milestones. The first of these is the road junction that splits the Hessie and 4th of July approaches. Within a mile of the lake itself is the actual summer trail head.

A small lake that the summer road would normally pass

One of several bridges. This is the most obvious one.

There is a half mile stretch before the summer trail head when the route leaves the road and travels through the woods. This is to avoid a large frozen expanse of water. In snow, I could not tell in what direction the road itself goes.

The beginning of the scenic switchback

The most scenic portion of the trail is a large switchback that passes a just visible cabin. The hillside that the road traverses has nice views of the surrounding valley. The remainder of the trail is surrounded by trees with occasional open vistas.

Crossing a snow covered stream

The lake itself is very scenic. Large boulders dot the edges, which add foreground contrast to the photographs. Large peaks dominate the northern view and can be reflected in the water at certain times of the day and warmer times of the year.

This boulder could have seated four people easily. There are also boulders closer to shore.

The downside to any snowshoeing on the eastern side of the divide is the wild down sloping wind. If you are not prepared, the wind can freeze the eyeballs in your head. I bought ski goggles to prevent this phenomenon but fortunately did not need them this day. A thermos of hot chocolate or tea is also a necessity in this area. The winds can come up suddenly too, so don't be fooled by the benign stillness, be prepared.

Looking down the lake from the direction we came

This was my first time at Lost Lake and while it is not the prettiest routes I have ever taken (those are in Summit County), it is close, which sometimes is the most important thing.

Brown grasses cling to the ice. In spring these will turn a lovely shade of green.