East
Lake Creek– FDT 1880
Difficulty:
Moderate
Trail Use:
High
Length:
12.5 miles
Elevation:
Starts at 8960 ft, ends at 11,198 ft, highest point 11,198 ft
Elevation Gain:
+2238 feet
Open To:
Hiking, horseback riding, llamas
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., turning left, south, at the National Forest Access sign.
Travel on this road for 1.8 miles and turn right onto
West Lake Creek Rd., look for the sign at the turn for the East Lake Creek trailhead.
Follow this road for approximately 4 miles to the trailhead, staying to the right at the “Y” after the bridge, parking only in the designated area because of the surrounding private land.
Trail Highlights
:
This popular trial begins as a well-defined, moderately uphill dirt path through lodge pole pine and aspen with the first 2 miles traveling through damp lush aspen forest with abundant wildflowers down to East Lake Creek.
After crossing the wooden bridge, the trail is a moderate climb up the east side of East Lake Creek becoming rocky and wet in areas where it crosses drainages into the creek.
The trail continues through a narrow canyon valley of spruce/fir forest for about 4 miles.
After passing
Boot
Lake and a swampy area, it passes through an old mining site with ruins and old machinery before it enters a flat area where the stream meanders and beavers have made a series of ponds. The trail may become faint, so look out for trail markers. The trail comes out into an alpine meadow before ending at
Upper
Camp
Lake.
East Lake Creek offers fishing for
Colorado cutthroat, brook and rainbow trout.
