Make sure to take a left before the bridge at Ouzel Falls to get close to the falls! Made it up the dirt road just fine with my sedan. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. While I dont think its the prettiest lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, part of its charm is that its a bit understated and demands some stout effort to reach. Gorgeous. Leadville, Colorado is the highest incorporated town in America and a mecca for adventure sports. Hike to beautiful Bluebird Lake in Wild Basin - Estes Park Trail-Gazette 136.243.94.45 On the bright side, it allows for great views of the surrounding peaks all around you. Make sure youre pacing yourself through this section. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. I saw 3 others, who finished the hike and said the lake was beautiful. Also, highway 7 out of Lyons is closed due to a rockslide but the rangers said they expect to have it open by Tuesday. [Saturday, September 24th - On trail at 9am/Off Trail at 3pm] Free or close to free: but a little farther (if youre willing to drive). Get water at the lake's outlet stream. It has recovered, but the trees are still rather small leaving the trail exposed with no canopy. Snow patches once you get within 0.5 miles of Ouzel Lake. Overall, I felt like the effort outweighed the reward compared to other alpine lake hikes in the area. Instead of continuing west, take a left. Most people opt to stay here and admire the lake, which is easy to do. The ox tour, which can be walked all year round, leads through extensive pastures characterized by heathland, which are used as a habitat by endangered animal and plant species. We took a left just before the bridge and climbed the well-worn path adjacent to the east side of the cascading creek up to the falls. Poles, spikes or waterproof shoes arent necessary. Trail its self is pretty but its very muddy and wet right now. Trail conditions were great. At 2.7 miles, and an elevation of 9370 feet, hikers will reach Ouzel Falls, which is a very impressive 40-foot waterfall. We ran into a couple the next day who overnighted here and they were rewarded with sights of a moose bathing in the lake in the early morning. With Ouzel Falls and Ouzel Lake being located along the path, backpacking Bluebird Lake might be the best overnight adventure in the park. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. Absolutely beautiful! Bluebird Lake is a fantastic mountain run in the lesser-visited Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. Very gradual incline, but the last mile to Bluebird Lake took me about 45 minutes. In all, the Ouzel Fire burned more than a thousand acres, making it one of the largest fires in Rocky Mountain National Park history. The traffic on the trail was light, even more so after the falls. It was a cool morning, so I didnt posthole at all. Eventually, the lake comes into view with numerous places to sit and enjoy the jagged, towering mountains surrounding this breathtaking alpine lake. The parking lot was about 70% full when we arrived but the trail was not busy whatsoever! Some slippery snow field at the end. Discover this 9.9-mile out-and-back trail near Allenspark, Colorado. Regardless of how you get to the Park gate, youll want to drive the dirt road into Wild Basin for its entire length until coming to a parking lot. It is impressive and looks to be very deep. After dinner, we continued up to Bluebird Lake. The aspens are a bright yellow and the shrubs a colorful array of orange and reds. At just over 1.3 miles from the trailhead you'll reach a spur trail on your right that provides access to a series of five backcountry campgrounds. Although you can see it from the new footbridge that now spans across Ouzel Creek, you can get a much better view by traveling off trail for a short distance. All rights reserved. Location: 40.201764, -105.60388. Camping near Rocky Mountain National Park will cost you. Bluebird Lake is a fantastic destination. Trail wet or snowy in many places. In total, the five campgrounds offer seven individual campsites. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Here is everything you need to know about hiking Ouzel Lake. Naturpark Sauerland-Rothaargebirge. Early in the day mosquitos were deadly until more than halfway to Winnemucca. Gorgeous views! The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The aspens are interspersed but more visible along the ridge shy of Ouzel Lake and the shrubs near Bluebird. You can also purchase a park-specific annual pass. It will take an epic effort to see them both in one day, but its worth the challenge. The hike starts in the woods and passes 3 waterfalls. Highly recommend and will be doing again! Absolutely gorgeous scenery. It starts out by crossing over the Upper Ouzel Creek and thenparalleling it before it splits off to the south (left) and switchbacks tightly up to the ridge before landing on a slanted slab which we traversed to the top of the ridge. With Ouzel Falls and Ouzel Lake being located along the path, backpacking Bluebird Lake might be the best overnight adventure in the park. Isolation Peak | 13,114' Isolation Pk South Ridge Route, Map & Photos From the main Wild Basin parking lot, proceed west on a wide and obvious trail. Remember to check the forecast religiously until the minute you leave for the trailhead, mountain weather changes. Wild Basin Trail - Wildland Trekking Our first hike started from the Bear Lake trailhead and ended at Lake Haiyaha, which is probably better known in some circles for the wealth of hard bouldering it and the surrounding area contains, rather than being a hiking destination. On July 4th the parking lot was pretty busy by 7am. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Skyblue Overland, LLC. Checklist Comments. Either variation gets you to the Bluebird Lake trail with comparable distances covered. Loop trail close to nature in the Sauerland-Rothaargebirge Nature Park, North Rhine-Westphalia. The highlight is the Fuelbecketalsperre, there is an ideal place for a little rest. During the wet summer months, bug repellant is needed! This hike offers several attractions along the way, including Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls. Proceed until seeing the National Park gate on your right. Go early in the day before the snow turns to slush and bring microspikes! I Brought my gaiters and it could have been helpful for the last .7 miles but I was fine without them. Slowly gaining elevation, the trail will arrive at a bridge and trail junction at Calypso Falls. For more information, please see, Lion and Snowbank Lakes via Lion Lake, Thunder Lake, and Wild Basin Trail, Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls via Allenspark Trail, Calypso Cascades via Wild Basin and Allenspark Trail, Copeland Falls via Copeland Lake and Hidden Falls Trail, Finch Lake and Pear Lake via Allenspark, Finch, and Pear Lake Trail, Boulder-Grand Pass and Lake of Many Winds via Thunder Lake Trail, Eagle and Box Lakes via Wild Basin and Thunder Lake Trail, Cony and Hutcheson Lakes via Finch, Pear, and Hutcheson Lakes Trail, Saint Vrain Mountain via Rock Creek Trail. The mountain forecast for Mt. 1.4 miles into your journey, youll arrive at a trail junction. On the return journey, however, it can be hot along this stretch, so make sure to wear a hat or liberally apply sunscreen. Make sure you are watching the skies. This route includes 7 trails. Back at the Ouzel Lake spur intersection, we continued towards Bluebird Lake. Bear left @ the Y-junction, merging onto Ouzel Lake Trail. A tough climb to the top - we went May 11th-13th and the top of the basin by Ouzel was covered with a good 4-6 feet of snow. Microspikes are helpful but not required. Elon Musk's Twitter rebrand is a user nightmare | Fortune 2h 23m. From left to right: the flank of Mount Copeland, Ogallala Peak and Ouzel Peak. I actually went further on to bluebird lake and got within a 1/4 of a mile of it before deciding to turn back.There was a bit of snow in some key spots and I forgot to take my sticks or spikes and just wasnt feeling it..(Don't forget them) . Ouzel Falls, Ouzel Creek and Ouzel Lake are all named after the water ouzel. If the area grabs your interest, check out our trail reviews of Thunder Lake and the Wild Basin Waterfalls, Mt. Bluebird Lake Rocky Mountain National Park Jeremy Small Adventure Guides United States Colorado Hiking + Backpacking Login Login Plan In onX Backcountry View 10 Photos Pets allowed Not Allowed Elevation Gain 2,500.00 ft (762.00 m) Trail type There-and-back Distance 12.60 mi (20.28 km) Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Along the way, the trail crosses over some creeks and we soon ran across a doe (deer) coming down the trail. Shallow water flowing on the trail in occasional places. This route climbs 2,851 ft with a max elevation of 10,981 ft then descends -2,851 ft. The views are 10/10 but the road into the park is terrible right now and more importantly, the flies are terrible! $ 1.59 - $ 215.75 Here are Embroidered hiker's trail tag patches, decals, and vinyl stickers of Rocky Mountain National Park lakes and mountains. Youll make a hard left onto a small road and proceed past some houses and the Wild Basin Lodge. Trail Length: 15.38 miles (roundtrip) Trailhead Elevation: . Even so, the numerous waterfalls and sights along the way make this one of our all time favorite hikes. There are tons of people taking in the sights and sounds of this immense amount of water falling the 40 height and crashing into the boulders below. Some snow near the lake but easy to walk over it without traction. The tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack. Even though the elevation approaches 10,000 feet, this section can get hot in full sun. We went left and began a steep climb towards the valley above Ouzel Falls. Road to the trailhead is notoriously pot holes - and this was the worst I've ever seen it. If that thought sounds unappealing, the Campsites cutoff trail is always available. From here the trail climbs along the rocky exposed terrain to views overlooking Ouzel Lake. Saw a moose and baby above Ouzel Lake. Trail is mostly dry. The trail then finally enters a forest unaffected by the 1970s fire. IF you have an entrance pass, AND you arrive before 9 AM, you are free to park and enjoy your day (make sure your pass is visible on your windshield), hence the arrive early mantra. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There was a decent amount of people up until you get to Ouzel Falls, but once you pass Ouzel Falls I had the trail pretty much to myself. Most of them are easy to go over. You are only allowed to camp at designated spots and with a permit in the Wild Basin Area of Rocky Mountain National Park. You'll need to leave pups at home dogs aren't allowed on this trail. 2023 Best 10 Trails and Hikes in Ldenscheid | AllTrails Back to the east, youll be given views towards the massive flank of Mount Meeker. 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