14ers.com • Trailhead Info and Status (Missouri Lakes Trailhead)

Missouri Lakes Trailhead

Location

Sawatch Range
39.39008° N, -106.47055° W

Road Difficulty

2 (0=Paved, 6=Very Difficult 4WD)

Driving Directions

From Minturn, drive approx. 11 miles south on Highway 24 OR from Leadville, drive approx. 19 miles north on Highway 24. Turn west onto Homestake Road (dirt). Drive nearly 8 miles and turn right onto the Missouri Creek road. Continue 2.25 miles to reach the Fancy Lake TH on your right and turn left to reach the Missouri Lakes TH. 4WD vehicles can pass through the TH parking area and continue (easy 4WD) 0.6 mile to reach an unmarked 4WD parking area along Missouri Creek. If you drive to this point, reach the trail by crossing the creek and walking about 50 yards up a hill.

Winter Access

Closed far below the trailhead.

Status Updates
2018-05-06 Posted By: martinleroux Info: Homestake Road (FS703) is now only open from May 21 to Nov 22. The rest of the time it’s gated and closed at US 24.
2017-06-14 Posted By: brerrabbit Info: Clear to the dam although the 4WD trailhead starts before the end of the road if you are attempting Savage. There’s a fair bit of puddles although they are not very deep and I didn’t see any hidden significant rocks in the puddles. A subaru outback made it to the 4WD TH without difficulty with care in just a few spots.
2017-04-09 Posted By: brerrabbit Info: Snow starting ~0.4 miles into the turnoff from US 24 onto Homestake road. There were tire tracks in the snow but since there were ~7.5 miles left just to the turnoff for Missouri Creek Road we decided to switch to a secondary objective.
2015-06-26 Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Open
2015-06-09 Posted By: Wildernessjane Info: We were able to get 1.1 miles up the 4WD road. I think with the warm weather someone could get all the way to the end of the road by now. There were about half a dozen pools of standing water 4-6 inches deep on the 4WD road.
2014-06-24 Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Open and dry
2014-05-27 Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Homestake (FS 703) road is open but the Missouri Lakes road is current blocked by snow after 1.3 miles from the Homestake junction.
2012-11-29 Posted By: TravelingMatt Info: See entry for French Creek (spoiler alert: closed for season).
2012-07-01 Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Open and dry. Drove the extra 0.6 mile to the 4WD which shortens the approach by 1/2 mile. To avoid having to cross the creek on foot, we drove across and parked just below the trail intersection - no problem.