Lower, Middle, and Upper Blue Lakes + A Failed Mount Sneffels Attempt

Located near Ridgway, Colorado, Blue Lakes Trail is a popular day-hike as well as backpacking spot, and is part of the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness area of the Uncompahgre National Forest. The parking lot is down a well-kept dirt road that any car can easily drive (when we went, at least), however parking is limited for the amount of visitors. We got there mid-day, so by then people had left and we got a parking spot right up front. But, there was a long line of cars parked along the road, sometimes causing it to be quite narrow.

As a popular trailhead, the San Juan Mountain Association sets up a tent to provide any information hikers may need, as well as to educate hikers on the area they are hiking in. Even if you don’t have any questions, the volunteers are happy to chat! We didn’t speak to the volunteer this day, but we did when we hiked Island Lake and Ice Lake last year.

The trail immediately forks, to the left Dallas Creek Trail, and to the right, Blue Lakes Trail. The hike starts off semi- steep and then levels out. Your hike starts out in a spruce forest, eventually opening up to two prominent trail sections with meadows full of wildflowers and views of the mountains. You’ll reenter the forest just before you reach Lower Blue Lake, which is just over 3 miles one way. For those camping, there are many campsites available, and even though it was busy when we arrived, there were still more than enough places to pitch our tent. We opted for a clearing on the northwest side of the lake where we had a view of the mountains peeping through the tall pines.

The weather radar I looked at hadn’t shown any rain for the rest of the day, so we decided to see if we could tackle Mount Sneffels. To continue on the trail, you have to cross the East Fork Dallas Creek, pass the middle and upper lakes, with the latter leading you towards a series of switchbacks to reach the ridge. We reached the ridge around 6:00PM and contemplated our next move. But during that time, the wind started whipping as a storm rolled in. We weren’t sure how long the storm would last, and any tree coverage was far away, on either side of the ridge, so we hurriedly headed back down to the lakes. It rained and hailed for about 15 minutes before it let up, and luckily no thunder or lightning occurred. With no one else out on the trails, we had the upper viewpoint of the lower lake all to ourselves. We hung out here for a while just taking the scenery in. We saw a marmot, and even a deer! Not to mention how beautiful the wildflowers were with the lake in the background.

We made dinner by the lower lake and then tucked in for the night. Come morning, we had a slow start to the day and by the time we were headed out, around 10:30AM, there were only 3 tents left from at least 20+ campsites the day prior.

Had we woken up early, we probably could have successfully tackled Mount Sneffels, but I wasn’t feeling that ✨inspired✨ anymore. (More like, I didn’t want to hike up those switch backs at the upper lake again). There were plenty of people hiking up to the lakes, and we made it down just in time before a brief rain shower.

GETTING THERE

To reach the trailhead, you’ll drive along CR7 for approximately 9 miles, which is a road off of State Highway 62. When we went the road was in good enough condition that a sedan could drive it if you really wanted to. But, AWD or 4WD is still recommended. For the popularity of the trail, there is not enough parking. You will find many cars parking along the road as you get close to the trailhead, such that the road narrows to only traffic going in one direction.

THE HIKE

Strava logged me at 3.63 miles from the trailhead to the lower lake, taking 1 hour and 32 minutes - this time being with no breaks and was one-way. The elevation gain that Strava logged was 1,655 feet. From the lower lake to the ridge, it was 5.61 miles roundtrip and 2,027 feet of elevation gain taking 2 hours and 45 minutes. In the photographic diagram for Mount Sneffels, Blue Lakes pass is where we made it to. We could have continued on the Southwest Ridge, or hiked down and then back up to ascend via the Standard Route- had we continued to summit

Trail map via All Trails

GEAR

Backcountry has a wide selection of outdoor gear, some of which I used on this backpacking trip.

  • Osprey, Aura AG LT 50L Pack - Women's

  • MSR, PocketRocket 2 Mini Stove Kit

  • Black Diamond, Pursuit Trekking Poles

  • On Running, Cloudrock 2 Waterproof Hiking Boot - Women's

  • The North Face, Cat's Meow Sleeping Bag: 20F Synthetic

  • Nemo, Flyer Sleeping Pad

*The gear links on this page are affiliate links.

colorado, hiking, camping, backpackingCara Holmeshiking, backpackingComment