Now that everyone was here in Colorado, we decided to take an introductory hike together. One of the local hikes suggested was an easy loop around Monarch Lake. If we wanted to add to this hike, we could branch on to the Cascade Creek trail that would be steeper as it followed a beautiful creek up to Cascade Falls.
Trailhead Location: From Granby take U.S. Highway 34 to County Road 6 (Forest Service Road, FSR 125 or Arapaho Bay Road). Follow this road for 10 miles to the Monarch Lake parking area.
County Road 6 followed the shoreline of Granby Lake....
Monarch Lake – an Old Logging Outpost Near Grand Lake
In the early 1900s, Monarch Lake, near Grand Lake, Colorado, was built to store logs before they were transported to a nearby sawmill via flumes and rivers.Today, at 150 acres, it’s dwarfed by nearby Lake Granby (7,256 acres), but it’s kept at a constant level so that visitors can enjoy non-motorized activities.
In the early 1900s, Monarch Lake, near Grand Lake, Colorado, was built to store logs before they were transported to a nearby sawmill via flumes and rivers.Today, at 150 acres, it’s dwarfed by nearby Lake Granby (7,256 acres), but it’s kept at a constant level so that visitors can enjoy non-motorized activities.
“The Great Lakes of Colorado”
Monarch Lake is one of six major lakes located just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. The other bodies of water that form the “Great Lakes of Colorado” are: Grand Lake, Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Lake, Willow Creek Reservoir and Meadow Creek Reservoir.
Monarch Lake is one of six major lakes located just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. The other bodies of water that form the “Great Lakes of Colorado” are: Grand Lake, Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Lake, Willow Creek Reservoir and Meadow Creek Reservoir.
The Monarch Lake Trail is 4.0 miles long (round trip), is rated as Easiest and is very heavily used from June through October (open year round).
Elevations:
Trailhead: 8,300'
Highest Point: 8,400'
USGS Maps: Monarch Lake Quad
With the jagged peaks of the Indian Peaks Wilderness as back drop to the lake, this easy loop trail is a popular destination year round. The trail begins at an old cabin that is staffed in the summertime. Inside the cabin are historical photos of the area and trail information. Along the way you will pass an old steam donkey engine, log chute pilings and cabin remains from when this area was logged in 1902
Elevations:
Trailhead: 8,300'
Highest Point: 8,400'
USGS Maps: Monarch Lake Quad
With the jagged peaks of the Indian Peaks Wilderness as back drop to the lake, this easy loop trail is a popular destination year round. The trail begins at an old cabin that is staffed in the summertime. Inside the cabin are historical photos of the area and trail information. Along the way you will pass an old steam donkey engine, log chute pilings and cabin remains from when this area was logged in 1902
On a beautiful sunny day, we started on our way around Monarch lake. The trail was flat, well-maintained, and the scenery was spectacular...
Check out the video. Jim has spotted some trout in the stream....
About half way around the lake, we reached the split for the Cascade Creek Trail.
Everyone was feeling great, so we decided to head towards Cascade Creek Falls, and just turn around when we started to tire.
Cascade Creek Trail
Description:The Cascade Creek Trail begins at the Monarch Lake Trailhead at an elevation of 8,340 feet and travels along the north side of the lake to the Arapaho - Cascade junction. Here the trail is level and offers great views of the lake. The trail turns east and starts up a narrow valley after entering the wilderness. Soon you come to an intersection where the Cascade Creek Trail continues up the valley and the Southside Trail takes you back around the other side of the lake. The Cascade Creek Trail makes a gentle climb to the northeast to a bridge across the stream that drains Hell Canyon. Soon you hear the rushing sounds of Buchanan Creek. You get a good view of the creek just before climbing the north side of the drainage, making several switchbacks along the way. The junction with the Buchanan Pass Trail is reached in another mile. You will travel through a large park like area of lodgepole pine as you approach the junction. At the junction the trail travels east and then turns southeast (right) towards Pawnee Pass. Cascade Falls is about 1.5 miles from the junction. These falls are very beautiful and can be easily seen from the trail. Horses are not permitted beyond the falls. The trail follows the north side of Cascade Creek for another 1.4 miles to the junction with the Crater Lake trail and the Pawnee Pass trail. The Cascade Creek Trail climbs 1,700 feet to an elevation of 10,040 feet. This trail receives heavy day and overnight use and is of moderate difficulty.Features:
Length: 6.4 miles (10.2 kilometers)
Elevation Range: 8,340' - 10,040'
Elevation change: 1,700 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Description:The Cascade Creek Trail begins at the Monarch Lake Trailhead at an elevation of 8,340 feet and travels along the north side of the lake to the Arapaho - Cascade junction. Here the trail is level and offers great views of the lake. The trail turns east and starts up a narrow valley after entering the wilderness. Soon you come to an intersection where the Cascade Creek Trail continues up the valley and the Southside Trail takes you back around the other side of the lake. The Cascade Creek Trail makes a gentle climb to the northeast to a bridge across the stream that drains Hell Canyon. Soon you hear the rushing sounds of Buchanan Creek. You get a good view of the creek just before climbing the north side of the drainage, making several switchbacks along the way. The junction with the Buchanan Pass Trail is reached in another mile. You will travel through a large park like area of lodgepole pine as you approach the junction. At the junction the trail travels east and then turns southeast (right) towards Pawnee Pass. Cascade Falls is about 1.5 miles from the junction. These falls are very beautiful and can be easily seen from the trail. Horses are not permitted beyond the falls. The trail follows the north side of Cascade Creek for another 1.4 miles to the junction with the Crater Lake trail and the Pawnee Pass trail. The Cascade Creek Trail climbs 1,700 feet to an elevation of 10,040 feet. This trail receives heavy day and overnight use and is of moderate difficulty.Features:
Length: 6.4 miles (10.2 kilometers)
Elevation Range: 8,340' - 10,040'
Elevation change: 1,700 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Cascade Creek..............
For lunch, we had sandwiches from the Safeway in Fraser. We found an open spot near Cascade Creek, a beautiful campsite, and stopped to eat and relax.
After lunch, we continued up the trail in the direction of the falls. When we reached a bridge, we decided we had gone far enough and decided to turn around. We climbed out onto some rocks where there was a nice vantage spot and rested for a few minutes.
The brown trees are the result of the damage of the Pine Bark beetle, which has killed a lot of the pine trees in this section of Colorado.
We returned to the junction with the Monarch Lake trail and took a break. We met a young lady, Mariah, and her parents, while we rested.
The trail around the rest of Monarch Lake had a nice bridge that crossed the creek.......
We had views of the beautiful water.....
And beautiful flowers........
Another log bridge to cross (fun!!)..........................
This is the old steam donkey engine mentioned earlier......
Finally, the last part of the trail around the lake, and we were finished.
Everyone did great. It was a good warmup hike for all of us. Now we are looking forward to the rest of the week ahead. Tomorrow is Sunday, and we are planning to take a 1/2 day raft trip on the Colorado River. Should be a blast..
No comments:
Post a Comment