Blue Lake Indian Peak Wilderness

This was our second attempt to hike to Blue lake this summer. We were too early mid july as the road was still closed due to snow on the trails. Mid August and later is  good time to go before the snow returns. The trailhead to aim for is Mitchell Lake TH. It is hard to park there as this is a very popular hike. We got there at 8:30am and missed the parking. We had to walk an additional .6 mile each way to the trailhead. Normally the hike would be 6 miles round trip .  We drove through Nederland and the town of Ward before turning left at the Brainard Lake Recreation area and paid the $10 fee.  It was very buggy around the lakes so pack some repellant.  Here we arrived at Mitchell lake- a one mile distance from the TH.

Mitchell Lake

The next part of the trail gets more difficult with many rocks  to climb around. Wear your high top hiking shoes for this one. There are two to three moderate rock climbs with great views of Mitchell lake looking back.

There are several water crossings as you continue to hike through the pine forests. Many wildflowers were present at this time. Beautiful!

As you continue along the trail you are climbing toward the tree line. Elevation gain is 800 ft if you start at the TH. We did 1200 because of the additional hike from the parking.

Looking back toward Mitchell Lake

This is an example of one of the moderate rock climbs. It is no faster coming back down- watch your step. Hiking poles are helpful.

As you near Blue Lake the meadows come into view.

Some of the many wildflowers.

The trees begin to disappear as you climb higher.

Several streams and small waterfalls. See the snow in the background.

Cairns mark the trail as you walk over large boulders to continue on the trail.

Blue Lake. Across the lake is a small waterfall.There is also a trail that goes right around the lake to the waterfall.

Heading back

I remembered why I love this hike so much.The views of the lakes, meadows, water crossings , are spectacular.