Middle Lake-FDT 2223
Difficulty:
More Difficult
Trail Use:
Low
Length:
3.5 miles
Elevation:
Starts at 9664 ft, ends at 11,146 ft, highest point 11,795 ft
Elevation Gain:
+1482 feet
Open To:
Hiking, horseback riding
Access
:
Travel 16.5 miles east from Eagle on I-70 to the Edwards exit and head south towards the town and Hwy. 6.
At Hwy. 6 turn right, heading west, for 0.7 miles to
Lake Creek Rd., turn left, south, at the National Forest Access sign.
Travel on this road for 1.8 miles and turn right onto
West Lake Creek Road.
Travel 2.7 miles to the Baryeta Cabins Rd., FDR 423, and turn right at the switchback. This road will become a rough, rutted, 4-wheel drive road for 3.2 miles until it dead-ends at the Baryeta Cabins site.
There is parking at the trailhead and information board, no mountain bikes allowed past this point.
Trail Highlights
:
This trail is one of the steepest and most challenging trails on the Eagle District, traveling from the Baryeta Cabins site through the Holy Cross Wilderness to
Middle
Lake.
The trail climbs 1000 feet in the first 1/2 mile to a total rise of 2200 feet at the highest point 2.5 miles along the trail. At 1.5 miles Dead Dog-FDT 2220 connects with the trail.
The trail begins by crossing West Lake Creek and climbing through spruce and fir up a number of switchbacks, then through a krummholtz forest before it comes to a rocky alpine meadow. Be sure to look for stone
cairns to help guide the way.
The descent to
Middle
Lake, 680 feet, is very steep and rocky. This 9 acre lake is surrounded by spruce/fir and rocky, snow-covered peaks rising in the background.
The lake offers the opportunity to fish for rainbow and
Colorado cutthroat trout.
A wide variety of alpine wildflowers can be viewed in the meadows: kings’ crown, white marsh marigold, globeflower, harebells and phlox.
