indian peaks wilderness
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Colorado Hikes: Pawnee Pass
As you know if you’ve followed me for a while, my to-do list of Colorado hikes seems to constantly get longer rather than shorter. Some of these hikes in particular have been on my list for years and we’ve just never gotten around to them. So at the beginning of last summer, I made a… Continue reading
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Colorado Backpacking: Cascade Creek Trail to Mirror and Crater Lakes
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… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Niwot Ridge
I’ve long since lost count of how many times my hiking plans have been thwarted by weather. After bailing on this hike once due to a high probability of – strangely – early morning thunderstorms, my friend and I were able to reschedule for a couple weeks later and, this time around, the weather cooperated.… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Arapaho Pass and Lake Dorothy
It was the beginning of July and my husband had a couple days off, so we decided we’d take advantage of the opportunity for a mid-week hike at a trailhead that’s typically far too crowded on weekends. I, of course, already had a list of hikes that fit the bill, but some research revealed most… Continue reading
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Colorado Summits: Saint Vrain Mountain
My birthday is in the summer and, in most cases, you could pretty confidently plan an outdoor celebration and assume the weather will cooperate. In the Rocky Mountains, as it turns out, it’s not such a guarantee. In fact, it snowed on my 8th birthday and my planned outdoor party had to be moved indoors;… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Mitchell and Blue Lakes
Last week, I wrote about one of the two most popular hikes in beautiful Brainard Lake Recreation Area in the Indian Peaks Wilderness west of Boulder: Lake Isabelle. It’s a close call, but as lovely as Lake Isabelle is, in my opinion it’s actually the least scenic of the two. This one – to one… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Long Lake and Lake Isabelle
A couple weeks back, I published an informational post about Brainard Lake Recreation Area, a popular destination that encompasses the eastern side of the Indian Peaks and surrounding wilderness area. This area is popular for a reason. Actually, there are many reasons, including its relatively short distance from the Front Range, ease of access, and… Continue reading
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A guide to visiting Brainard Lake Recreation Area
(Updated May 2025) Brainard Lake Recreation Area was one of the first places we visited after moving to Colorado and has been a frequent destination of ours ever since. It’s a great place to take out-of-town visitors for some lovely scenery and short, relatively easy hikes. The longer hikes at Brainard are some of my… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Lost Lake
There are many Lost Lakes in Colorado. Apparently. I didn’t realize this until I just googled “Lost Lake” in an attempt to verify the mileage of this hike and a whole bunch of options came up. Turns out there are at least 7 or 8 of them. Back in the day, people must not have… Continue reading
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Colorado 13ers: South Arapaho Peak
Most people who visit Colorado in search of mountains go to Rocky Mountain National Park. Don’t get me wrong; Rocky is incredible and well worth the trip. But there are so many other equally stunning areas of the state. Exhibit A: the Indian Peaks Wilderness just south of Rocky. Over the last four years, I’ve… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Lower Coney Lake
Lower Coney Lake, located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado, is beautiful. Getting there was awful. This was partly due to weather and partly due to the fact that, all in all, this was not my best day on the trail. My friend, her husband, and I arrived at Beaver Reservoir around 7:30am, and… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: High Lonesome Loop
In general, my day hikes average 8-10 miles (12.8-16 km) in length. Too much more than that and the exhaustion begins to outweigh the enjoyment. But every once in a while, I stumble across a longer hike that sounds like it’s worth the extra distance. With a name like High Lonesome, I was hopeful this… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Isabelle Glacier
Do you ever have one of those hikes where the scenery just blows you away? There’s so much beauty in Colorado that the bar for that kind of awe has been set pretty damn high. But Isabelle Glacier exceeded that bar. Lake Isabelle is one of the most popular hikes near the Front Range, and… Continue reading
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A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of skiing
Since moving to Colorado, we have managed to go cross-country skiing about once a year. I wish we could go more often, but we don’t have our own gear (yet). Fortunately, there’s a place not too far away that rents gear for a decent price, and there are some trails in the mountains that are… Continue reading
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Colorado 13er #3: Mount Audubon
The day began in a fairly typical fashion when it comes to hiking in Colorado: Mount Audubon is a 13er located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. To reach the trailhead, one must enter through the gates of Brainard Lake Recreation Area, which is (a) gorgeous, (b) exceptionally popular and crowded, and (c) a… Continue reading
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Colorado Hikes: Lake Isabelle
You know how sometimes you set out for a hike and get a bit too ambitious and then spend the last few miles regretting your ambition? This was one of those days. It was a 70°F/21°C day on the plains in early March, which meant it was also an unseasonably warm day up in the… Continue reading