August day hike suggestions somewhat near RMNP/Boulder

[keffertz]

I am planning a trip to Colorado for a wedding on August 28th and plan to stick around the following week to get some hiking in. We will stay in Boulder the night of the 29th and plan to head to RMNP the next day (Sunday). We plan to spend that week (sunday- friday) camping in and around the park and day hiking (unless I can convince my girlfriend to do a couple nights in the backcountry).

So we are looking for a couple pieces of advice:

A) Good campsites to set up a basecamp. - I would like to hit a couple different sites. Easy access to nearby trials and solitude/beauty are my main criteria here. Would like to hit at least 2 sites but not move every single day.

B) Good dayhiking trails. - In/near the park is best, but we may sneak down to indian peaks wilderness or even summit county.

Here are some trials I am considering:
Mt Ida
Sky Pond
Iceberg lakes
Crater lake (can lone eagle peak be accessed (for viewing, not climbing) via crater lake/mirror lake loop?)
Chasm lake
Flattop Mountain
Missouri pass- Fancy pass

We are both in decent hiking shape but also flat-landers (hailing from Fargo, ND). We can usually do 12-15 miles with 2000-3000 ft elevation pretty handily in a day.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Happy trails!

[peter303]

I'd reserve a campsite ASAP. A quick perusal of Reserve America shows about half the sites in the four closest campgrounds are booked for that week already. I think you can get most of it refunded if you cancel up to three days, Moraine is the most centrally located. But any of the three in the Park are fine. Estes Park about 20 minutes drive has a Safeway and many restaurants.

The ridge area between Boulder and RMNP is called Indian Peaks. They have some campgrounds and nice view hikes too. i'd recommend Branaird Lake campgorund, Pawnee Pass and Mt Audubon hikes. Indian Peak campgrounds will sell out too.

[keffertz]

Thanks for the quick reply. I booked a site at Moraine Park campground for 3 nights, Now I just have to find a good site for the remaining 3 nights - Pawnee campground looks promising but I would like to get a walk-in site which appear to be non-reservable.

[hskrhiker]

I am no help with respect to campsites, but would offer these two suggestions if you decide to do Flattop: 1) once you reach Flattop, circle to your left and summit Hallett. It's only about 15 minutes and well worth it. 2) once you return to Flattop, continue north to walk out onto Big Horn Flats for a mile or two. This is just such an enjoyable stroll. If you have a little more energy, you can venture off the trail for some really cool views.

[keffertz]

Thanks for the advice - Hey hskrhiker - are you also alexanderdelarge from the protrails forum?

[106jhf]

My advice for RMNP is to look at the sites in the North Eastern section of the park along the Lost Lake Trail.
there are three sites that allow for campfires which is always a bonus in the backcountry; Lost Falls, Happily Lost and Halfway are all good camp sites and are about a 6+ mile hike in from the Dunraven Trail Head.

You will gain access to some spectacular off-trail hiking once you get above the treeline and have many options in terms of both lakes and peaks to choose from if you keep hiking West beyond Lost Lake. The last time I camped this region in late Aug we saw few hikers so the solidude is decent. I have camped in many of the backcountry sites across RMNP and this is by far my favorite.

[kimo]

Crater lake (can lone eagle peak be accessed (for viewing, not climbing) via crater lake/mirror lake loop?)

If you want to see Lone Eagle Peak up close and have not reserved your last three nights at Pawnee Campground, consider driving to the west side IPW and pitching tent at Arapaho Bay campground. I believe lake-side and walk-in sites are reservable thru ReserveAmerica if you want a sure thing.

Lone Eagle first comes into view on the trail well before reaching Mirror Lake. From the Monarch Lake trailhead, Crater Lake/Mirror Lake is an out-and-back, not a loop. IIRC, right around 15 miles r/t. Attached a pic taken from the trail before reaching Mirror Lake. The view of Lone Eagle from the lakes is even better.

DSC_1574.jpg (309.26 KiB) Viewed 767 times

[keffertz]

I'm torn now between going in the east or west side of indian peaks. Are there fewer people on the west side (during the work week)? I figure the driving distance from boulder might control the crowds a bit.

Poll: Which campground/trailhead do you prefer, Arapahoe bay (Monarch lake trailhead) or Pawnee (Brainard lake rec area trailhead)???

[AlexeyD]

Are there fewer people on the west side (during the work week)?

Honestly, during the work week you won't see all that many people on either side, especially once you're a few miles away from the trailhead. On the weekends, the east side does get much more crowded.

[peter303]

The west side has been hit hard by pine beetle. Most of the trees are brown or cut down. All the open campgrounds have been made safe by removng trees.

[keffertz]

Has the east side had pine beetle problems? Has anyone been to Pawnee campground recently that can attest to the conditions there?

[kimo]

I'm torn now between going in the east or west side of indian peaks. Are there fewer people on the west side (during the work week)? I figure the driving distance from boulder might control the crowds a bit.

Poll: Which campground/trailhead do you prefer, Arapahoe bay (Monarch lake trailhead) or Pawnee (Brainard lake rec area trailhead)???

That's a bad poll for this forum. Although 14ers.com is one of the leading backcountry resources for Colorado, I would confidently estimate that less than 5% of 14ers.com members have visited the western IPW from a western trailhead. The vast majority here hike/climb the IPW 13ers from the east due to ease of access and then never visit the wilderness again. The wilderness is beautiful on both sides of the divide so you can't make a bad choice especially if visiting mid-week. It really depends on how important seeing Lone Eagle Peak is to you. Back in 2006, that iconic peak changed my life. I prefer west side over east, but it really comes down to what fits best in your schedule.

And don't be alarmed by Peter303. The west side IPW has not been hit hard by the pine beetle. Sure, there is some beetle kill, especially when heading up the Roaring Fork trail. But, for the most part, the destruction is outside the wilderness boundary. Many of the campgrounds along Hwy 34 near Lake Granby have been cleared of trees. The last time I passed through the Arapaho Bay campground was in July 2013. There were still plenty of healthy trees in the campground loop along County Road 6. Most of the trees along the shoreline have been removed.

I can't speak for Pawnee campground conditions. I don't head up there much anymore - overcrowded on weekends.