Lonesome Lake | Holy Cross Wilderness Hiking

Lonesome Lake is a long day hike of mostly mild grades and beautiful scenery to a stunning alpine lake. This trail had a nice mix of hiking through the woods and wide open valley views. And on top of that we only passed one other party on our way back to the trailhead. We happened to be spending two weeks in the area dispersed camping on Homestake Road, the same road that the Lonesome Lake trailhead is on, so it was also a convenient option for us. There are several trailheads on this road, including Missouri Lakes and Fancy Lakes which make for a fantastic loop hike!

Quick Info: Day Hike to Lonesome Lake

Directions: From Minturn, head south on US-24 for about 13 miles and then turn right onto Homestake Road/FR 703. Follow Homestake Road for about 10 miles to the small parking area just before the road junction to Homestake Reservoir. The trailhead is kind of hidden in the vegetation across the road from the parking area.

Distance: 11 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Moderate

Our Experience Hiking to Lonesome Lake

We left our dispersed campspot on Homestake Road and followed it up towards Homestake Reservoir. As we were approaching Lonesome Lake Trailhead, we almost passed it up! The trailhead is on the left side of the road but the signs are easy to miss back behind the tree branches. At the trailhead, there are only a few parking spots along the road, a map, an overnight permit self registration box but no restrooms.

Shortly after starting off on our hike to Lonesome Lake, we were greeted by the Holy Cross Wildness Boundary. From there, the trail leads steeply up through the woods with sounds of the water rushing down below. This section of the trail is probably the steepest until the final ascent to the lake.

The trail leads to a river crossing then continues through the woods, climbing gradually. And then the views open up to the beautiful meadow lined valley. The majority of hiking to Lonesome Lake is this mix of wooded and open sections. Views from the trail change continuously as the trail gently climbs and leads further up the valley.

Hike it Later – Pin it Now!

As we were getting nearer and nearer to the mountain peaks up ahead, the trail began to get steeper! And the nearby peaks were dramatic and captivating. The approach to Lonesome Lake got more rocky and more scenic!

And then we spotted it! We climbed up on some rocks to get a view of the entire Lonesome Lake. It was gorgeous – the color of the water and the steep mountain walls cradling it. From atop the rock, we scoped out a deep spot for jumping in. And we also took notice of the clouds threatening to block
out the sun.

So we quickly made our way around a small, cute lagoon area and stripped down, hesitating only briefly before racing the sun and plunging into the chilly water! After quickly pulling ourselves out of the water we jumped into the beautiful Lonesome Lake a second time. Definitely exhilarating! Warming up with the sun behind the clouds was a bit challenging but it was worth it.

We explored the shoreline a bit and found a spot for lunch where we sat taking in the views and enjoying every little peak of sunshine we could get! We were surprised to have the whole lake to ourselves. From here, we headed back the way we came to the Lonesome Lake Trailhead.

Hiking to Lonesome Lake was yet another beautiful Colorado adventure. I’m getting too used to these, it’s going to be hard to leave! (Well, once there’s snow involved it won’t be that hard to leave haha)

After we made it back to our vehicle, we decided to drive a bit further to check out the Homestake Reservoir. We were impressed by the size of it! And the mountain scenery around it was very beautiful.

Thanks for Reading!

We’ve been in awe by the beauty that we’ve seen in Colorado so far! And looking forward to squeezing in as many more as we can before the weather turns cold. If you’d like to see some of our adventures in Colorado so far, check out the links below:

• Purgatory Trail to Animas River
• Backpacking Oh Be Joyful
• Hiking Teocalli Peak
• Rustler Gulch Trail
• North Halfmoon Lakes + Mount Massive

In between adventures, we’ve been busy working on our hand painted longboards! To see our latest lineup of one of a kind longboards, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop. And if you’re interested in a custom longboard, just shoot us an email and we’ll get started!

If you shop on Amazon (for anything) you can help us out! Just use our Amazon link to get to Amazon before doing your shopping. It won’t change your shopping experience but it helps us out a bit. We appreciate it! 🙂