Name: Hessie to Lost Lake
Rating: 4.3

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Dogs Leashed

Features Lake · Swimming · Views · Wildflowers

Overview

Exceptionally popular, and for good reason. This is one of the easier ways to enjoy a high alpine lake, beautiful forest, and good sense of the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It's popular, so expect company.

Need to Know

Trailhead parking is extremely limited, and there are no good alternatives when it's full. Take the free shuttle from the Nederland High School. Use this parking symbol to navigate to the Park and Ride

(the shuttle parking location has changed from the RTD PnR to the Ned HS. Please update the parking symbol as well.

Description

From the trailhead, cross the footbridge and take the Devil's Thumb Trail #902, which climbs steeply for about 0.5-miles on an old road. The shorter Devils Thumb Bypass turns right (north) in 0.8 miles, but stick left and you'll soon come to the Lost Lake Trail.

Beautiful forested trail continues and you'll quickly get to the lake. There are 9 campsites available (first come, first served, and popular). It's cold, but people have been known to take a dip. Fishing is also popular.

Enjoy the views, circle around the lake, and meander back down!

Contacts

Land Manager: USFS - Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Office

Shared By:

Nick Wilder with improvements by Alex HW

Full Details

Trail Ratings

4.3 from 83 votes

#2

in Eldora Mountain Resort

#96

Overall

4.3 from 83 votes

5 Star		41%
4 Star		47%
3 Star		10%
2 Star		2%
1 Star		0%

Recommended Route Rankings

#2

in Eldora Mountain Resort

#28

in Colorado

#96

Overall

50 Views Last Month

23,595 Since Jul 27, 2015

		1%
		0%
		93%
		1%
		3%
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Photos

May 3, 2015 near Nederland, CO

Many stunning views on the way out of High Lonesome Trail loop (clockwise) 08/08/18

Sep 28, 2018 near Nederland, CO

Nov 24, 2015 near Nederland, CO

Be sure to get an early start to beat the crowd.

Apr 8, 2017 near Nederland, CO

Jul 5, 2021 near Nederland, CO

Apr 15, 2024 near Nederland, CO

2 Comments

Weather

Current Trail Conditions

Minor Issues 73 days ago

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Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Dec 18, 2024

Eugene Martinez

Nov 1, 2024

Julie C

Aug 18, 2024

Matt Thome

kids liked it 4.4mi — 3h 30m

Jul 22, 2024

Jeff Mooney

Oct 1, 2023

Jim Turner

Feb 25, 2023

Scott Johnson

Kenny,Bryce, Kaitlyn, Kevin, and Lisa 4mi

Sep 26, 2022

Cody Kauhl

Jul 31, 2022

Private User

Jul 16, 2022

Michael X

Jul 15, 2022

Lesly Doyle

Jun 19, 2022

Private User

May 28, 2022

Ari R.

May 26, 2022

Kathryn Forbes

Jan 17, 2022

Michelle Williams

Nice manageable winter hike. Only micro-spikes are needed if snow is packed down. Need to visit during other seasons and check out the campsites. 4.7mi — 2h 13m

Oct 2, 2021

Ross Therrien

Sep 25, 2021

ASWIN SINGH

Jul 28, 2021

Alex O'Connell

Wild flowers are having a banner year. Beautiful hike & destination. Extra mile is for the walk to actual TH 5.4mi

Jun 30, 2021

Matt Culpepper

Amazing wildflowers, spectacular waterfall, and cool subalpine lake. Campsite #2 is prime (4.5/800) 4.5mi

Jan 30, 2021

Rachel Solorio

Mostly snowpacked, some rocky spots. Snowshoes or spikes are useful but not necessarily required. 4.4mi

Dec 29, 2020

Katie Osland

Snowy, some traction and poles are helpful but possible to do with just hiking boots. 2mi

Dec 20, 2020

Matt Twyman

Windy AF but beautiful 4.3mi

Jul 29, 2020

Gina G

Jul 25, 2020

Tess Harris

Jul 3, 2020

Meg Medina

Beautiful waterfalls on river/creek.

Jun 27, 2020

Rick Zieser

Arrived 6:55am on a Sat, parking was full, took the shuttle. Most of those cars had frosted windshields, though, we were one of the first few parti…

Jun 23, 2020

Kevin F

Camped overnight at Lost Lake, quiet and peaceful. Trail and lake area are well maintained. Fox, Weasel, and Deer sightings!

Jun 20, 2020

Colin Trottnow

Dec 25, 2019

Lala Khalida

Oct 23, 2019

David Hikes

Oct 19, 2019

Madison Overbey

5.9mi

Sep 28, 2019

Trevor Bolliger

Good hike! Parking was annoying (we had to double back to town and take the shuttle) but the hike was a good length and difficulty

Sep 23, 2019

Chad Haven

Jackie 32 weeks preggers Monday, not many people, parking still limited 4.4mi

Aug 28, 2019

Catherine F

5.1mi — 2h 28m

Aug 23, 2019

Charlie Avery

4.4mi — 3h 00m

Aug 11, 2019

Madison Martin

7 weeks postpartum and the incline was a little challenging for me. Could be a great trail to take visitors from Nebraska

Aug 2, 2019

Private User

Aug 2, 2019

Private User

Jul 11, 2019

Kelsea Esquivel

Jul 4, 2019

David Herbst

Jun 28, 2019

Kyle Crump

Jun 21, 2019

James Ortmann

Jun 18, 2019

Sam F

4.4mi

Jun 14, 2019

Mike Sanders

Jun 11, 2019

Nathan Harrison

Jun 10, 2019

Haley Fischman

4.4mi — 3h 00m

Jun 9, 2019

Lindsey Watson

Jun 6, 2019

Cabriel Sullivan

Trail still largely covered in snow or soggy and muddy from snow melt. 4.4mi

May 26, 2019

Travis Knight

4.8mi — 3h 15m

Apr 8, 2019

E L

4.8mi — 1h 58m

Apr 6, 2019

Rachel Solorio

Packed snow the whole way, crampons definitely useful but my friend did it without spikes and used hiking poles 4.4mi — 2h 00m

Mar 31, 2019

Yoshiyuki Takahashi

4.4mi — 4h 20m

Feb 10, 2019

Jim Turner

Turner Family Snowshoeing Adventure

Jan 5, 2019

AJ Fisher

Very well tracked trail. No need for snow shoes but I'd recommend crampons for steep inclines.

Jan 5, 2019

Cheryl McMaster

Nov 20, 2018

Carolyn Jungels

4mi

Nov 17, 2018

Leah RK

4-6" of snow; snowshoes not necessary at time of trip. 1.5mi — 1h 15m

Nov 15, 2018

Kim Chrislip

w/Sam. Good weather with a few wind gusts at the start. 4mi — 2h 00m

Sep 24, 2018

Brandon Yoder

Sep 21, 2018

Kristin Robinson

Sep 2, 2018

Dyanna Gue Foi

Sep 2, 2018

Skylar W

3.4mi

Aug 25, 2018

Chelsea Taylor

5mi

Aug 22, 2018

Mark Donahue

3.4mi

Aug 11, 2018

Alexander Knox

2mi

Aug 6, 2018

Tyler Kanaval

didn't go to lake, went to woodland lake I stead. 3mi

Jul 28, 2018

James Hart

This was a nice family friendly hike! We did make it all the way to the lake, but we had to hurry to get back for the last shuttle @ 8pm. 3.4mi

Jul 25, 2018

Sarah Sandler

3.4mi

Jul 21, 2018

Chris Spagnuolo

Jul 4, 2018

Kristy McElhattan

Jun 18, 2018

Mallory Karr

Jun 12, 2018

Adams Myers

Beautiful hike, multiple stream and river crossings, as well as waterfall views. Lost Lake was beautiful with views of alpine peaks in he background. 6mi

Jun 9, 2018

Jay M

Jun 7, 2018

Courtney Wiley

Jun 3, 2018

Robyn Lourence

Jun 2, 2018

Kyle Nieukirk

Had to park down a ways from he trail 5.5mi

May 28, 2018

Maria Verven

Several beautiful falls all along the trail, not a difficult hike at all. Mega scenes for minimum pain.

May 28, 2018

Sarah Dotson

Hiked with Megan and friends and pets. Perfect weather with minimal snow on tail. Other hikers said King’s lake trail was too snowy.

May 25, 2018

Scott Linemeyer

May 12, 2018

Louize R

Apr 29, 2018

Rob Laucius

Mar 31, 2018

M Heese

Road to the trailhead is closed so parked in Eldora. Great hike, spikes were beneficial. Dogs loved it! 5.6mi — 2h 40m

Mar 17, 2018

Katie Dove

Mar 8, 2018

John R

Mar 4, 2018

Michael Carr

Feb 18, 2018

Ryan William

Mostly snow packed. Easy with spikes and hiking poles. Snowshoes seemed overkill. The lake is completely frozen. We walked all over it

Feb 18, 2018

Melissa Jean

4.8mi

Feb 11, 2018

Franco Brockelman

After being towed by two trucks! 7.5mi

Jan 26, 2018

Lisa Kelly

Decent amount of snow, but totally doable without poles or spikes still. Main parking lot isn’t accessible, so it’s about an additional .8 mile wal… 6mi

Jan 4, 2018

dj walker

Jan 1, 2018

Maren Miller

Jan 1, 2018

Scott Pfister

4mi

Dec 3, 2017

Artie Fagin

Icy conditions slowed down hiking time! Microspikes recommended

Oct 20, 2017

Allison Klein

Oct 20, 2017

Mike G

Oct 15, 2017

Patrick Csongei

did the lost lake loop first and got a little lost myself on the far side of the lake. I hiked back down from the lake and took the woodland trail ... 13.1mi

Oct 7, 2017

Jessica Robertson

With Mikaila and Laura 3.4mi

Oct 1, 2017

Jade Krueger

Sep 16, 2017

Joe Purnell

4.6mi

Sep 9, 2017

Genevieve Labadie

Aug 20, 2017

Brad Costa

Stopped along the way for pictures and such. Could have done it faster, but also could have spent all day at the lake. 4mi

Aug 6, 2017

Kristy McElhattan

Jul 22, 2017

Alex Grina

Jul 22, 2017

Libby S

Jul 20, 2017

Brian L

3.4mi

Jul 13, 2017

Stephen Froehlich

Jul 9, 2017

Olivia Heel

5mi

Jul 8, 2017

Rachael Cruze

Jul 4, 2017

Nicole Benkelman

We started at hessie trailhead and worked our way up to king lake from there. Views were incredible and would do it again in a heartbeat 3.4mi

Jun 26, 2017

Kelly Olatunji

Gorgeous hike, tons of waterfalls, Lost Lake has beautiful views. I just wish there were less people. 3.4mi

Jun 26, 2017

Vijay Velagapudi

Jun 24, 2017

Mo Woods

Jun 18, 2017

Danielle Rourke

We hiked up Hessie Trailhead, saw some of the many beautiful waterfalls, and did the loop around Lost Lake. 5mi

Jun 5, 2017

austin willmes

May 28, 2017

Phil Mazzarella

3.4mi

May 7, 2017

Elisheva Wexler

Apr 23, 2017

Nick Theimer

Mar 5, 2017

Olivia Allen

Nov 25, 2016

Colton Lock

5.5mi

Nov 25, 2016

Paul Kacsmar

The road up to parking is snow covered. We saw a Prius get stuck.. the trail starts and ends with a nice steady uphill, nothing crazy 3.4mi

May 20, 2016

Mat Greten

Dirt road had deep puddles, unable to make it to parking lot. Beautiful hike. Lots of melting snow. Trail was a stream covered in 2 feet of snow. 3mi — 1h 37m

Jan 30, 2016

Sam Waters

great hike, lots of snow prevented you from parking close to the trailhead. could have explored much much further in good weather 4mi

Jan 23, 2016

Caleb Joyce

Warm day for January.

Jun 15, 2014

Fio Chiarini

date and time are estimated 3.4mi