Colorado · Hiking · Mount Zirkel Wilderness

Bear Lakes

Bear LakesPhoto: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
2.1 mi
round trip
30 ft
climb
10,687 ft
high point
Out and back
route

Is Bear Lakes open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 3 alerts for Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.

As of · Source: USFS · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Bear Lakes is an easy out-and-back hike in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, part of the Parks Ranger District of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Colorado. The Forest Service manages the land, and the trail is about 2 miles long, with a one-way elevation gain of about 30 feet. The route starts and ends at roughly 10,347 feet and reaches about 10,687 feet at the high point. The trail is natural-surfaced and allows horses. Bikes are not permitted. For a longer outing, Red Dirt Pass lies about a mile away and Gold Creek Lake about 2 miles off. Climbers can head to Mica Basin, about 4 miles away, and Seedhouse Campground is about 7 miles from the trail.

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

Gold Creek LakePhoto: brewbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Gold Creek Lake

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Mica BasinPhoto: brewbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Mica Basin

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BIGHORN LAKE

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Wyoming TrailPhoto: brewbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Wyoming Trail

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Red Dirt Pass

~2 min drive

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Bighorn Lake Trail

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Three Island LakePhoto: brewbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Three Island Lake

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Grizzly Helena Trail 1126.1

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GilpinPhoto: brewbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Gilpin

~6 min drive

12.06-mile out-and-back trail in Colorado's Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest with 2,317 ft gain.