Round trip distance: 9 miles
Hiking time: 7 hours
High point: 10,800 feet
Elevation gain: 1,500 feet
Best hiking time: June through October
Maps: USGS 7.5 minute series Chambers Lake and Clark Peak
Trails Illustrated #112 Poudre River, Cameron Pass

Elevation profile

For more information: Roosevelt National Forest, Canyon Lakes Ranger District, 1311 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80524. Phone: Phone: 970-498-2770. http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/arnf/contact/

Getting there: From Fort Collins, travel 11 miles north on U.S. Highway 287 to the hamlet of Ted’s Place. Turn left (west) onto County Road 14 and drive through the beautiful Cache La Poudre River canyon for 53 miles to Chambers Lake.  The trailhead will be on the right (north) side of the road, about 1 mile past the Chambers Lake turnoff. There is a blue trailhead sign.

Special considerations: Camping is not permitted within 0.25 mile of Blue Lake and Hang Lake.

The road to this trail runs through the rugged and beautiful canyon created by the Cache La Poudre River, which like the Big Thompson River (see hike XXX), originates in the steep peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Thus, the drive is a scenic delight as the canyon walls rise on either side of the road and the river as it curves and climbs seemingly forever. Chambers Lake is located at the mouth of Poudre Canyon and the Blue Lake trailhead is just past the lake.

Since the Blue Lake Trail enters the Rawhaw Wilderness, wilderness leash laws apply.

The first two miles of the trail run along an old logging road before the trail narrows as it enters the Rawhaw Wilderness. The ample width of the trail is a pleasure for you and your dog since you can walk side by side, an opportunity seldom found on hikes in the backcountry.  In addition to being well delineated, the trail is also well signed with blue diamond markers. The trail descends rapidly into the Joe Wright Creek drainage and crosses on a bridge over the creek. The trail then curves northwest and begins a slow upward climb that offers occasional views of Chambers Lake to the right (east). A scant 1.5 miles from the trailhead, the trail crosses Fall Creek on a bridge and follows the creek up its drainage as it passes into the Rawhaw Wilderness, where your dog needs to be placed on a leash.

Another creek crossing comes at just over 3 miles into the hike, a little below the outlet of an unnamed small lake that lies south of Blue Lake. This area is known as “lake country” and is dotted with sapphire colored lakes, large and small. The forest thins here and the trail passes through two meadows that are a riot of ever changing colors during the summer months. This is a great place to stop and relax for the last steep pitch.

Next, the trail crests the ridge and offers up a vista of Blue Lake. To reach it, however, you need to leave the main trail and drop about 100 feet down a steep treeless slope into the sculpted cirque in which the lake lies.

Tall spruces and firs shade the trail for most of the hike, and it is a pleasant trek even on a hot day with a constant source of cooling water for your dog.

From the ridge above Blue Lake, the panoramic view looks to the north at the Mummy Range and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Hang Lake, a small lake to the left (west) of Blue Lake and a few hundred yards off the trail, beckons further exploration. If you are backpacking into the wilderness area, climb north a short distance on the trail past the two lakes then descend to reach West Branch Trail that offers easy access to Island Lake and Carey Lake, the Rawah Trail, Two Crater Lakes and Grassy Pass. Backpackers arrange shuttles, entering the wilderness via the Blue Lake Trail and exiting via the West Branch or Rawah trails. 

For day hikers, return the way you came.