Hope Lake – almost the Caribbean
When the Life Bus went to Durango at the end of August to celebrate our brother’s wedding, we spent a few days in Telluride adventuring together there. (See Just a Darn Good Day Paddling in Telluride post). We were recommended this hike by the great people at our SUP rental location – Mountain Adventure Equipment at Telluride Mountain. We were looking for a high altitude hike with solid elevation gain, and hopefully a lot of beautiful, mountain scenery along the way. This hike delivered on all of those criteria in spades.
Normally my goal would be to hike as fast as I can to the summit; testing my endurance mettle and pace the whole time. This hike was so jaw-droppingly beautiful that I found myself stopping frequently, not caring at all about my pace or time. We couldn’t stop staring in wonder, amazement at the wildflower explosion that surrounded us and at the kodachrome color of the surrounding peaks. Hope Lake itself was equally worthy of pausing for a long while to just take in the serenity, the clarity, the Caribbean color.
The hike begins with popping in and out of a beautiful spruce forest. Interestingly, given the epic amount of snow this area saw during the winter of 2018-2019, we encountered numerous avalanche paths where the sheer force of those events was evident by the number of trees bent over like matchsticks. The destructive power of such a massive snow season was conversely matched by the beauty that such snowfall brings … wildflowers as far as the eye could see, in every color.
Getting to Hope Lake requires driving a few miles on a Forest Service road, a 4WD vehicle would be best on this road. Once at the trailhead, I’ve seen varying distances reported for the hike distance – ranging between 3.3 miles to 4.5 miles from TH to Hope Lake. I’m not exactly sure because my GPS stopped working along he way. Normally this would’ve bugged me but I was just so in the moment and in love with nature. Elevation gain from TH to Hope Lake is about 1300 feet. Hope Lake sits around 12,000 feet.
This was just one of those perfect days that really drives the Life Bus. We’re happiest when surrounded by quiet nature, the smell of pine and dirt, mountain breezes, and single track trail. Hope you get the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful part of our state and this hike.
Thanks as always for following along 🙂 Here’s to adventure!!
Lexi
So many flowers for august. Looking at the pictures, I’d guess May.
That’s exactly what I was thinking the whole time. I was shocked to see how many there were and they were so fresh and alive still. Our summer didn’t actually start until about July this year because of the amount of snow and cold weather we had prior. As a result, our wildflower season and our golden aspen leaf seasons went well into September and October respectively. Such a great bonus!
What a day! What a view! Just stunning. Lucky you! Mel
Those wildflowers are beautiful, especially with the backdrop of mountains. You are so lucky to live in CO!
My husband and I often stop on a trail and look around and say … I can’t believe this is our backyard. I have heard amazing things about Minnesota too and am super anxious to get to the Boundary Waters, Duluth, Ely, etc. There’s a fat bike mountain bike race in MN I’d love to do some time. I think it’s 100+ miles.
I wonder if you are talking about the Arrowhead 140-mile wintertime (!) fat tire race. I haven’t been to the Boundary Waters since I was a kid, but lots of people go annually. Duluth is nice. Never been to Ely. If you ever make your way here, be sure to get in touch!
Oh thanks so much. I would love to. I do think it’s the Arrowhead. Sounds like a great challenge! MN sounds amazing to me!!
Wow! I can see why you wouldn’t want to rush through this hike. There’s nothing like a carpet of wildflowers against a mountain backdrop.
Totally!! I was literally awestruck the whole hike. I have a million photos of the wildflowers because I kept stopping every 5 steps. LOL.
Recently discovered the amazing alpine lakes of Colorado this past summer! Looking forward to adding this one to the list! 😉
Yes you will love it. If you’re in to dispersed camping at all, the road to the TH and past the TH was amazing for dispersed camping opportunities. Enjoy! Don’t go on the weekend though, as is typical in CO these days, it can be very crowded on the weekends.
Love your photos Lexi. You are lucky to have had such a profusion of wildflowers that late in summer. It was wet and cold through the end of May in Puglia.
Yes! This year was truly a magical year for wildflowers, and they lasted so late into the season. Puglia has been high on my list for a long time. I was headed there this Fall but plans fell through. Good to know that I shouldn’t head there prior to May 🙂
Ohh looks beautiful. It must be an incredible place to spend a relaxing holiday 🙂 Sometimes we need to get lost in nature to find ourselves again.