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- Length:
- 7.5 miles (out and back)
- Difficulty:
- Challenging
- Trailhead:
- Chihuahua Gulch (39.60046, -105.83823)
- Why we love it:
- Arriving at this tucked-away tarn after a merciless climb feels like unwrapping a Colorado secret, with a sea of 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks falling away from the water’s edge.
- When to go:
- July through October for snow-free trails
- Pre-hike fuel:
- Place a Haywood Cafe takeout order and pocket a breakfast sandwich or down a scrambled egg avocado toast on your way through Keystone.
- Post-hike buzz:
- Clink pints and celebrate your hard work over Mountain Juice IPAs at Steep Brewing & Coffee.
- Restrooms:
- None
- Dogs:
- Allowed on leash
Chihuahua Lake is its own best protector: A rough road and heady climb (gaining nearly 2,000 feet in less than four miles) keep it quiet. But above treeline, all pain is forgotten: There’s an alpine meadow, a crystal-clear lake, wetlands, and views worthy of your lock screen.
To reach Chihuahua Lake, park along Peru Creek Road and pick up the OHV Forest Road 263.1 on foot. (Gutsy drivers with high-clearance can try driving the first two miles, but we recommend saving your car’s axle.) Navigate the rocky, washed-out path past boulder fields (decent dispersed campsites and late-summer wildflowers on both sides), allowing your lungs to acclimate to the altitude above 10,000 feet.
Pick your way across a trio of creeks (waterproof hiking boots are a benefit) and look up to spy the backside of the saddle between Grays and Torreys. Peru Creek provides a lullaby to counterbalance the consistent (and palpable) 1,900-foot quad-burning elevation gain.
Read More: Our Favorite Close-to-Home Hikes
Near mile two, spy the Chihuahua Lake trailhead sign and a teeny parking area. Stay left (west) and scale rough, rocky, rooty singletrack. Brief breaks in the ascent take you past wetlands with shoulder-high brush that turns warm yellow with pops of burgundy in fall. Keep your eyes peeled for moose.
Continue north into the Grizzly Peak basin, hiking toward the sheer granite face. In the final half-mile, pick a path of least resistance across talus (listen for the squeaks of pikas). Around mile 3.8, crest the scree slope to find Chihuahua Lake, an infinity pool at the foot of a collection of 13,000-foot mountains.
Return the way you came, being extra cautious on the loose sections at the top.
Read More: 12 Great Alpine Lake Hikes in Colorado: Chihuahua Lake
Getting there: From Denver, take I-70 west 65 miles to Silverthorne/Dillon, Exit 205. Travel east on U.S. 6 toward Keystone. Just past the ski resort, turn right (south) onto Montezuma Road (County Road 5) and follow it for almost five miles. Turn left onto Peru Creek Road and take it two miles to park near Chihuahua Gulch Road (Forest Road 263.1 on some maps).
