Potato Lake Trail

The Potato Lake Trail is a short 1.2 mile hike to a mountain lake in the Spruce Fir Aspen forest between the West Needles Mountains and Engineer Mountain in the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado.

The trail head is about 30 miles north of Durango on Highway 550, then 3 miles east on rocky and bumpy Forest Road 591. The turnoff is somewhat obscured by an ATV tour business at the intersection. Forest Road 591 is called the Old Lime Creek Road and continues along the west edge of the Weminuche Wilderness Area below the Twilight Peaks. Potato Lake is also called Spud Lake.

The trail starts next to a Lilly Pad covered small lake at about 9400 feet elevation and climbs gradually to about 9800 feet at Potato Lake. The lower part of the trail has some views toward Engineer Mountain to the northwest. The trail is smoother than the road leading to it and the walking is easy.

About half way to Potato Lake, a series of descending beaver ponds appears. The area along the beaver ponds is very rough with granite rock outcrops. Potato Hill comes into view at 11,871 feet.

Despite its jagged appearance, this peak seems to only have hill status in an area that features many peaks over 12,000 feet. The fir trees along the way here look like the white barked Subalpine Fir rather than Douglas Fir. I saw some very large mushrooms with reddish caps.

Potato Lake is several acres big and sits below Potato Hill. There is a path leading all the way around the lake, adding about another 0.5 miles for those wanting a longer hike. In late August, there were many golden asters and white daisies in bloom around the lake edges, a few Indian Paintbrushes also.

Reflections of the Twilight Peaks add to the scenic views. It took me 0:40 minutes to arrive and I spent another 0:30 minutes walking all the way around. My total hike took 2:00 hours for 3 miles on a 68 F degree late August day.


 

Colorado Trail at Little Molas Lake

The Colorado Trail is a 483 mile volunteer constructed route from Denver to Durango, Colorado, weaving through spectacular mountain terrain in six National Forests. A good access point for hikers is at Little Molas Lake.

A short distance north of Molas Pass on Highway 550 north of Durango, a dirt road leads west about one mile along the north side of Little Molas Lake to a well developed trail head area. This is segment 25 of 28 and goes in the direction toward Durango.

The lower part of this segment climbs through Lodgepole Pines and Spruce from a starting elevation of about 10,900 feet to 11,600 feet on a ridge that overlooks a wide basin at the head of Lime Creek. This basin area had quite a few large snags that look like the remains of a forest fire from many years ago. Otherwise, the area is mostly meadow area with scattered trees giving open views of many peaks over 12,000 feet.

On the ridge top the trail turns north toward the base of the group of peaks that Include Turk’s Head and Sultan Peak. To the south, Engineer Mountain is visible about 7 miles away. The Pass Creek Trail is a good trail up to Engineer Mountain Trail that connects to the Colorado Trail. From that area there are good views toward the peaks here. 

The trail surface is smooth and the curves are rounded making it easy walking and probably easy for bike riders also.

Turning west below the Turk’s Head area the trail rolls along a contour and goes around a creek drainage with views toward the Twin Sisters area. At one point there is a good view over a meadow that looks like it was once a lake, down a north flowing drainage.

 On a mid August day I saw about 15 other hikers and 4 mountain bikers using the trail. The trail head area has facilities for horse riders but I didn’t see any horses when I hiked.

Some of the boulders that have broken loose from above have the look of conglomerate type rocks, different sized stones cemented together. I saw two marmots lounging on one of these conglomerate boulders both coming and going. There were many chipmunks along the trail, scampering into the vegetation along the sides.

After about 4 miles a pair of small lakes is visible. There is another pair of small lakes visible in the distance. It took me about 2 hours to get to this south facing view point.

I turned around after 5 miles and 2:35 hours at one of the heads of Lime Creek. There were still small patches of snow feeding the stream flow. In this area there are several small easy creek crossings. In mid August, the wildflowers looked like their best days were finished. From here, the Colorado Trail turns southwest and threads its way another 6.5 miles toward the west side of Jura Knob to the junction with the Engineer Mountain Trail. 

My return hike took 2:25 hours for a total of 5:00 hours for about 10 miles. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a 65 F mid August day. In the higher open areas it was slightly windy, cool enough to add a layer.

Engineer Mountain Trails

Engineer Mountain is one of the most scenic peaks in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. The easiest access is the Pass Creek Trail near the Coal Bank Pass, about 35 miles north of Durango on Highway 550. The trailhead is along a short road on the west side, a very short distance north of the Coal Bank Pass rest area.

The starting elevation at Coal Bank Pass is about 10,660 feet and it is 2.5 miles and about 1000 feet of elevation gain to a trail junction with the Engineer Mountain Trail. The lower part of the trail climbs through spruce and fir forest and there is a small lake about 1 mile along the way. The trail emerges from the forest into meadow areas with the first view of the pyramid shaped Engineer Mountain at 12,613 feet.

At the trail junction, there are also views of the peaks toward the north. Some of these are Jura Knob, Rolling Mountain and the Twin Sisters. It took me 1:20 hours to get to the trail junction.

From here I could see a couple of climbers going up the left side and ready to start the actual climbing. For more hiking there is a choice of heading south for several miles on the Engineer Mountain Trail, or north toward the Coal Creek and Deer Creek Trails. I continued north and after about 1 mile, the Coal and Deer Creek Trail splits off to the right. After another 0.4 miles, the Coal Creek Trail splits from the Deer Creek trail and begins to descend back toward highway 550, 2.8 miles away.

It took me 2:10 hours to get to this decision point. The advantage of continuing is a loop hike with new territory to see. The disadvantage is a 1.3 mile segment along Highway 550 to get back to the Pass Creek Trailhead. The distance is about 4 miles either way.

I continued down the Coal Creek Trail, with more good views of Engineer Mountain and the mountains to the north and east. The meadows in this area weren’t as lush with wildflowers as I was expecting, even though mid August should be a prime time. The elevation change descending along the Coal Creek Trail is about 1600 feet, more than the Pass Creek Trail.

The trail reenters the forest and I was surprised to pass through a thick grove of what I think are Lodgepole Pines. They have short needles in bundles of two, similar to the canyon area Pinyon Pines but are much taller. I hadn’t noticed Lodgepole Pines on the regional trails before, though they surely are common.

The Coal Creek Trail makes a very inconspicuous junction with Highway 550. There is a trail sign but you wouldn’t notice it driving past, even if you were looking for it. While there were many hikers on the Pass Creek Trail, I didn’t see anyone on the Coal Creek Trail. The loop hike was enjoyable, but it doesn’t look like very many take that option.

There is a parking area on the east side of the highway about 200 yards south of the trailhead. Hiking along Highway 550 makes one appreciate the clean air in the high mountains. There was mostly enough room to hike along the road except for two stretches where guard rail forced me to cross and walk with my back to traffic. My total hike took 4:00 hours for about 8 miles. The temperature was about 62 F degrees at 10:10 AM when I started and 73 F degrees at 2:10 PM when I finished. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a clear blue sky mid August day.

The Coal Bank Pass rest area has several interpretive signs and a view point. One of the signs discusses how snow avalanches can reach 100 miles per hour and there are 100 avalanche routes along Highway 550, more than any major road in the country. Coal Bank Pass is the second highest on the San Juan Skyway, with only Red Mountain Pass higher.

Prospect Trail-Mountain Village Telluride

The Prospect Trail traverses the spruce and fir forest across part of the Telluride Ski Area in southwest Colorado. The trail head is a branch off of the Village Trail near the St. Sophia Nature Center.

I started my hike at the free parking area on the southwest side of Telluride and walked east about 0.4 miles along the very scenic San Miguel River Trail to the free summer gondola. Along the way there is an interpretive sign at the Depot, a restored early train station. The first gondola stop is the St. Sophia Station and the Nature Center is to the left.

Near the trail head, there is an interpretive sign describing the history of skiing in the Telluride area. Most of the ski runs at Telluride are references to the area mining history. The first segment of trail passes through forested areas, chair lift openings, and open ski slope areas. 

The views are mostly to the mountains north of Telluride near the airport. This trail is open to hikers, mountain bikes and horses with mountain bikes probably the most common. I didn’t see any evidence that horse riders use this trail. There isn’t much elevation change in the first 2.5 miles or so to Prospect Creek.

After crossing the small Prospect Creek, the route climbs with switchbacks and crosses a scree slope area. There are more spectacular mountain views and some views down into the Mountain Village area.

The trail was easy to follow until I arrived at the Ute Park Express Ski Lift and the Topaten Nordic Ski Area. There is a trail junction before these two sites with the Prospect Loop to the left and the Prospect Trail to the right. I stayed to the right. Looking at the maps later, the loop returns to the Sophia Nature Center without going into Mountain Village. Staying on the Prospect Trail led into the also confusing Nordic Ski Area. A map of the ski loops is posted, but it didn’t show the Prospect Trail.

A sign pointing downhill toward Mountain Village said Enchanted Forest and there was a trail so I followed it through a narrow opening in the forest. The Enchanted Forest is a short section with some weather beaten art propped up against the trees. I saw at least four of these large cartoon images. 

This alternate route cuts some distance off the Prospect Trail and ends up in more or less the same place. The typical maps that hikers use don’t show all of the alternate ski route trails and roads that are available here. Even the local Telluride maps are somewhat confusing, but all the ski trails generally lead back to Mountain Village.

After the Enchanted Forest I followed Teddy’s Way. This segment led downhill through the outskirts of a residential area with some spectacular mountain homes. There are ski bridges passing over the paved roads.

I think the last part of the Prospect Trail merges with Teddy’s Way but I didn’t see the trail junction. Just before arriving in the Mountain Village area the route enters the Double Cabins Disk Golf Course and there were several groups firing disks at the chain flags. The Prospect Trail conveniently ends across the road from the Station Village Parking Gondola. I rode the gondola all the way back down into Telluride and returned back along the River Trail to the parking area.

My hike took 3:50 hours. I think I walked about 5.5 miles on the Prospect, Enchanted Forest, and Teddy’s Way Trails and another 0.8 mile on the River Trail. There is about 1000 feet of descent from St. Sophia to Mountain Village. It was about 60 F degrees at 9:50 AM and about 70 F at 1:40 PM. I carried 3 liters of water but only drank 2. Mountain hikes often face afternoon showers. There was rain in the Lizard Head area to the south as I finished but no rain during my hike.

Woods Lake Trail to Elk Creek

The Woods Lake Trail is one of several hikes that start at the Woods Lake campground, near Telluride in southwest Colorado. The trail head and campground is about 10 miles west of Telluride on Highway 145, then 8 miles south on Fall Creek Road. 

The Woods Lake Trail heads south into the Lizard Head Wilderness and is a route into the Navajo Lake Basin. As a wilderness area trail it is only open to hikers and horses.

The first few steps skirt the edge of Woods Lake with views toward Dolores, Middle, and Dunn Peaks. It is 4 miles to Navajo Lake and 2.5 miles to the Elk Creek Trail junction. The starting elevation at Woods Lake is 9423 feet and it is a 2200 foot climb to the Elk Creek junction.

The trail climbs through spruce, fir and aspen forest with occasional small open meadows and small creek crossings. Wildflowers were particularly lush near the small creeks. All the creeks but one had small bridges across them, no wet feet on this hike. This trail gets a lot of horse use and flies were a nuisance.

The second half of the hike is steeper than the first half. Near the top there are the ruins of an old cabin. 

The small meadows were rich with wildflowers in mid July. Bright red Indian Paintbrush was the most eye catching, with many waist high Larkspurs, Cow Parsnips, Love Roots, Blue Columbines, yellow asters, Geraniums, and Bluebells.

Eventually the trail emerges from the forest near the base of scree slope, with the Wood Lake Trail continuing to the right and the Elk Creek Trail continuing to the left. There is a trail sign at the junction that looked like it had been twisted causing the signs to point the wrong way.

The views west toward Lone Cone were the widest. One of the other trails at the Woods Lake trailhead travels toward Lone Cone. I saw 3 horse riders during my hike and 6 other hikers with a total of 5 dogs.

The Elk Creek Trail connects back down to the Wilson Mesa Trail and a long loop hike is possible. It took me 2:20 hours to reach the Elk Creek junction and I returned the way I came. The return hike took 1:30 hours and my total hike took 4:10 hours for about 5 miles. The temperature was about 70 F degrees in mid July and I carried and drank 3 liters of water. At 2:30 PM when I finished there was a typical late afternoon mountain rain shower lasting about 10 minutes.

Ice Lake Trail

The Ice Lake Trail is a 3 or 4 mile climb from about 10,000 feet at the trail head to 12,257 feet at the turquoise blue Ice Lake in a spectacular high mountain basin. The trail head is at the South Mineral Campground, about 2 miles north of Silverton, Colorado on Highway 550, then 3.5 miles west.

The South Mineral Creek Campground area had many visitors in mid July. There are interpretive signs near the trailhead describing efforts to improve the trout habitat in the South Fork Mineral Creek. The creek supports Brook Trout, and Rainbow Trout are stocked by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

The habitat improvement project involves placing large boulders and logs in the stream to create pools and protect the banks. The trailhead parking area was overflowing on the day I hiked. The first segment of trail starts with switchbacks through spruce, fir, and aspen forest with views of the high peaks surrounding the valley.

On the way to the trail head, there is a 4WD road that leads to Clear Lake, one of the several small high elevation lakes in the area. There is a connecting trail from the road over to the main Ice Lake Trail that crosses below one of the many cascades and waterfalls that are visible along the way.

This stream crossing seems to have the remains of an old slippery looking bridge across it. A short distance further along the main trail, there is a side loop leading to a mining ruins site. There is a jumbled pile of destroyed wooden structures and a large metal boiler to see.

The route emerges from the forest and crosses a wildflower rich meadow below steep cliffs. Although the trail is named for mountain lakes, the wildflowers may be the main attraction of the Ice Lakes Trail. False Hellebore was in bloom, something not often seen.

There were lush larkspurs, Cow Parsnips or Love Roots or maybe both, a few Blue Columbines, and Indian Paintbrush, and Bluebells. The display probably gets better into August. From this meadow the trail resumes climbing steeply in forest toward the Lower Ice Lake basin. Looking back to the east, the Clear Lake 4WD road is visible switchback climbing and appearing to be amazingly high.

The Lower Ice Lake basin is the only segment of trail that is relatively flat. At the entrance end of the basin there is a rock outcrop that provides good seating and viewing of the lower lake.

It took me 1:45 hours to arrive at this comfortable viewing area after a climb of 1600 feet.
 

The remainder of the hike continues toward an oddly slanted waterfall with an eye catching peak called the Golden Horn looming above. The peaks to the south of Golden Horn are Fuller Peak and Vermillion Peak, and Pilot Knob is to the north.

                            

The trail toward the waterfall passes through waist high wildflowers and there is a creek crossing that will probably get your feet a little wet. I saw marmot feeding on the lush vegetation near the creek, the only wildlife that I noticed. I might have heard some Pikas, but didn’t see them. This last climb continues as steeply as before but the views back across the basin are spectacular.

Ice Lake is startling due to the vivid blue color, not to mention the ring of mountains surrounding it. Backpackers or those with extra energy have several other lakes to visit. A short distance past Ice Lake is the smaller and higher Fuller Lake. The trail to Island Lake is visible in the area around Ice Lake.

These numerous lakes are quite close to the popular Trout Lake and Hope Lake on the Dolores River side of the mountains. It took me 3:15 hours to arrive at Ice Lake. The downhill return took 2:00 hours and the total time was 5:30 hours. The mid July temperature at 10:00 am was about 60 F degrees and it felt about 10 degrees cooler at the top and was a little windy.

On the return hike it got noticeably warmer below the lower basin and was 70 degrees at the trail head at 3:45 PM. This was a on a day when the afternoon temperature in Durango was about 90. I drank 3 liters of water on this hike. The Ice Lake Trail is one of the most spectacular mountain trails in a spectacular region.

Ophir Pass Trail

The Ophir Pass Trail is one of the popular high mountain 4WD roads in the Telluride area in southwest Colorado. Ophir is a small mountain hamlet a few miles east of Highway 145, north of Lizard Head Pass and south of Telluride.

I started hiking at the beginning of the rough mountain road just past the end of the second group of the side by side mountain houses in Ophir. The lower part of the road passes through thick forest of Aspens, firs and spruces. The Ophir area has many signs of past mining activity. From this starting point it is about 3 miles to the top of Ophir pass with an elevation gain from about 9760 feet to 11,789 feet at the pass.

The trail is single lane with some wide spots to allow vehicles to pass. The main mountains to the south are called Ulysses S. Grant Peak and South Lookout Mountain, both over 13,000 feet. The Yellow Mountain group that is visible from Lizard Head Pass is also visible as are the two 14er Wilsons and the Lizard Head is in the distance. There is a swampy area down below that has a side trail leading to it.

About 20 vehicles passed by during my hike. Most were coming from the east with a few climbing from the west behind me. In the scree area near the pass I saw a couple of the small rabbit like Pikas that mountain hikers like to see. In late June there were patches of snow along the highest section of the route, but the road was clear and mostly dry.

On the north side I could see the track of the very steep Blixt Trail switch backing over the top of Oscar’s Pass. The Blixt Trail is an unmarked side trail off of the Ophir Pass Trail starting about 1.5 miles east of the start of the mountain road. It connects to the Wasatch Trail and then down into Telluride.

The spectacular scenery continues on the east side of Ophir Pass. It looked like the east side approach from Highway 550 near Silverton was more easily drivable that the west side approach. It took me 2:00 hours to climb the 3 miles and 2000 feet from Ophir to the top of the pass. My total hike was 3:45 hours for the 6 miles. I hiked on a 55 F late June morning. As often happens in the mountains, the bright blue morning sky started to cloud up into afternoon thundershowers starting just as I finished about 1:00 PM. I carried 3 liters of water and drank 2 of them.