First things first: there are a whole bunch of Crater Lakes in Colorado.
This post is about the one on the west side of the Indian Peaks Wilderness near Lake Granby. For info on hiking to the Crater Lake near Aspen, see this post. For info on hiking to the Crater Lakes in the James Peak Wilderness, or any of the other lesser-known ones… well, I haven’t been to those (yet), so you’ll just have to google it.
There are also multiple Mirror Lakes in Colorado, though they’re lesser visited and therefore not as frequently confused.
Anyway.
I actually hiked this trail for the first time six years ago with a couple other women from a local hiking group. When I got home and my husband asked me how the hike was, I immediately showed him photos and informed him we’d be repeating this hike someday, but as an overnight backpacking trip instead.
It took a few years for us to find the time, and also to secure the required Crater Lake backcountry zone backpacking permit. But finally, six years later, we made it happen!
We arrived at Monarch Lake Trailhead around 7:00am on a Saturday to find about 6 spaces left in the main parking lot. There is plenty of overflow parking available along the road, but you may find yourself parking quite a distance from the trailhead, making an already long hike even longer.
We were on our way by about 7:20am, following signs for Cascade Creek Trail and Crater Lake.
(Not to be confused with the other Cascade Creek Trail in southern Colorado. Seriously. Someone needs to come up with more creative names.)
It was a cool but calm morning, and despite all the cars at the trailhead, we didn’t encounter many people on the trail. This trailhead is the gateway for multiple popular backpacking destinations, so I’m guessing most of the cars were people who started their trips earlier in the week.
The hike begins gradually, traversing the northern shore of Monarch Lake and then meandering into the forest toward the first junction at about 1.5 miles (2.4 km).
On my previous hike we saw a moose along this section, but this backpacking trip was blessedly moose-free. I’ve actually only seen four this entire year; I’m cautiously optimistic that my moose magnetism is finally behind me.
(Spoiler alert: it was not. But that’s a story for a future post.)
We found the trail to be easy to follow and all junctions to be well-signed. At the first, stay left. At the second and third, stay right. Beyond the first junction, the next 2 miles (3.2 km) is slightly steeper, but still relatively moderate as compared to many Colorado trails. The trail itself is relatively unremarkable, as it’s almost entirely in the trees.
Past the second junction, we left the pine forest behind and entered into an expansive area of aspens and other bushes, the trail weaving through the landscape but never straying far from the aptly-named Cascade Creek.
There are a handful of waterfalls here, most of which are visible from the trail.
The trail continues to gain elevation at a slightly steeper rate for the next 3 miles (4.8 km) to the final junction. Here, we continued right toward Mirror and Crater Lakes, and our campsite for the night. This final stretch came in at a little over a mile (1.6 km). I list all these distances because, despite what many sources say, it’s actually 8 miles (12.9 km) and about 2700 feet (820 m) to Crater Lake.
(By the way, follow the rock cairns through this section of trail; there’s one at either end of this stretch of slickrock.)
During our hike, I’d made what turned out to be a very good decision, which was to ask any backpackers we passed which site they had vacated. Given that it was Saturday, I assumed many people had hiked in Friday night and would be staying the weekend, meaning our options would be limited.
I assumed incorrectly; by the time we arrived at Crater Lake, every site was empty. And, thanks to my questions, we knew exactly which one we wanted.
Truth be told, I don’t think there’s a bad site. Pretty much everyone we talked to raved about the great views from their site. But multiple groups also mentioned that site #12 was the best, so although it was the furthest one, we decided to check it out.
I have zero regrets.
Site #12 sits on the hillside north of Crater Lake, with a stunning view of the crystal clear water, the jagged ridgelines of the Indian Peaks, and the spectacular Lone Eagle Peak. I’d say I’m sorry for the number of photos I’m about to bombard you with, but I think we all know I’m not. It was impossible to narrow it down any more than this.
(All campsites are marked, by the way. There’s a map at Mirror Lake, and signs on trees point to the trails to each one. You are required to stay in one of the twelve established sites.)
We pitched our tent and strung up our new ultralight rain shelter, and then I sent a message to our friends K and J, who had departed the trailhead at 3:00am and were currently about halfway through their summit attempt of Lone Eagle Peak. They ended up summitting around 2:30pm and joined us at the campsite by dinnertime, feeling exhausted but accomplished. It was a technical climb, and while the views from the summit were pretty amazing, they both said it was sketchy and extremely exposed in places, and they wouldn’t do it again.
While they were scaling rock faces, we loaded up our day packs and headed back down the trail to the nearest junction, where we went the other direction this time toward Pawnee Lake (follow signs for Pawnee Pass).
Once again, we were the victims of inaccurate trail information here; what was supposedly a 4 mile (6.4 km) roundtrip journey was actually 6 miles (9.6 km). Added to our hike in, by the time we were back at camp we’d covered 14 miles (22.5 km) and 3870 vertical feet (1180 m). Needless to say, we were also exhausted.
However, Pawnee Lake was pretty! And I’m glad we took advantage of the opportunity to see it while we were in the area, because I’m not sure when we’d ever have another chance to do so.
It’s Colorado, so of course it wouldn’t be a proper backpacking trip without a thunderstorm. Sure enough, one rolled in around dinner time. Lucky for the four of us, we stayed nice and dry beneath my new shelter. And after the rain stopped, it was a beautiful evening.
We were in bed early and up early the next morning to catch the sunrise. The sky wasn’t as colorful as I was hoping for, but with a view like this, I really can’t complain.
And sadly, that was it. It was Sunday morning, and our time at this beautiful campsite had come to an end. We packed up and waved goodbye to what is undoubtedly one of the best places I’ve ever spent the night, and then coaxed our sore muscles into action for the 8 mile (12.9 km) hike back to the trailhead. By about the halfway point, we weren’t even really talking anymore. I think we all just wanted to be done.
But despite our exhaustion, it was a fun weekend, and we were already making plans for more backpacking trips together in the future!
Until then, I leave you with one final photo of Crater Lake.
Up next: a hike to Pawnee Pass from the other side of the mountains
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: Monarch Lake Trailhead is located in the Arapaho National Recreation Area, 10 miles (16 km) up CO Route 6 along the south shore of Lake Granby. This is a maintained dirt road, and any vehicle should be able to make the drive in non-winter conditions.
- Fees and passes: there is a $5/vehicle daily entrance fee for the Arapaho National Recreation Area (ANRA). If you have an annual ANRA pass or an America the Beautiful pass, display it on your dashboard. If not, stop at the kiosk as soon as you turn onto CO Route 6 because there are no pay stations further up the road.
- Permits: a backpacking permit is required for overnight stays in the Indian Peaks Wilderness from June 1-Sept 15th. A majority of permits go on sale on the first Tuesday in March at 8:00am MST, while 25% of permits are held back and become available three days in advance. Permits cost $11. To camp at Crater/Mirror Lakes, you’ll need a permit for the Crater Lake backcountry zone. If one is not available, you can obtain a Cascade Creek permit, allowing you to camp in the surrounding area instead and day hike up to the lakes. You must have a printed copy of your permit with you at all times.
- Hiking: roundtrip distance to Crater Lake is about 16 miles (25.7 km) with about 3000 feet (915 m) of elevation gain. For Pawnee Lake, add 3.2 miles (5.1 km) and 950 feet (290 m) roundtrip from the Crater Lake trail junction. Our total for the weekend was 22.5 miles (36.2 km) and 4550 feet (1385 m).
- Where to stay: there are a handful of campgrounds (most require reservations) around Lake Granby, including on the way to Monarch Lake, or you can sleep in your car at the trailhead. There are also many other camping and lodging options in the nearby towns and national forest. Lastly, this can be done as a day hike from the Front Range, but it’s about a 4-6 hour roundtrip drive, so it’s a very long day.
- Gear: see this post for a list of backpacking gear and other information on planning a backpacking trip.
- Other: there are no facilities at these sites, so be sure to bring everything you need for going to the bathroom (and burying/packing out your waste), filtering water, and properly storing food and toiletries (bear canisters are required).
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