The Spirit of the Rockies www.thespiritoftherockies.net

Hike Profiles for Rocky Mountain National Park and Surrounding Areas

Lawn Lake

The hike to Lawn Lake brings hikers intimately close to the massive flood damage along the Roaring River from the1982 flood caused by a failure of a former dam at Lawn Lake. The lakeshore still shows the unnatural shoreline from before 1982, but Lawn Lake today remains a remote and pristine natural lake.

Distance: 6.2 miles one-way Lake elevation: 10,987 feet Trailhead elevation: 8,540 feet Net elevation gain: 2,447 feet Lawn Lake Trailhead Rocky Mountain National Park

Hagues Peak and Lawn Lake

Major Trail Landmarks Junction of Lawn Lake and Ypsilon Lake Trails (1.3 miles one-way from trailhead) Junction of Lawn Lake and Black Canyon Trails (5.6 miles one-way from trailhead)

Principal Destinations Near Lawn Lake Crystal Lake (7.7 miles one-way from trailhead) - via unimproved trail beyond Lawn Lake The Saddle (8.0 miles one-way from trailhead) - via unimproved trail beyond Lawn Lake

Backcountry Campsites Near Lawn Lake Tileston Meadows (6.0 miles one-way from trailhead) - 2 individual sites Lawn Lake (6.2 miles one-way from trailhead) - 5 individual sites

The Lawn Lake Trailhead is located on the east side of the Continental Divide in the northeast portion of Rocky Mountain National Park. The trailhead is located just off U.S. Highway 34 in the Horseshoe Park area. To reach Horseshoe Park, drive on Highway 34 west of Estes Park to the Fall River Entrance Station. Continue west past the station for just over 2 miles to where the highway turns south beyond Sheep Lakes, and turn right (west) on to Fall River Road. The trailhead parking area is just 0.1 mile after this turn, on the right (north) side of Fall River Road. The trailhead can also be reached from Highway 36 at Deer Ridge Junction by taking Highway 34 north to Horseshoe Park, and turning left (west) on to Fall River Road. From the trailhead, hike the Lawn Lake Trail along the Roaring River valley for 6.2 miles to Lawn Lake.

Sample photographs of the hike to Lawn Lake

Mummy Mountain and Roaring River

Longs Peak from the west end of Lawn Lake

Lawn Lake topographic map

Principal summer trail marked by solid red line; unmaintained trail or route marked by dashed red line. Map is oriented with north to the top of the map

Click here to return to the hike profile menu

All users must accept the terms of use of this site. All information on this page conforms to terms of use.

All photographs are property of Mike Amfahr and are protected by copyright laws. Topographic map is property of and copyrighted by Maps a la carte, Inc., and is used on this site with permission.