Lake Isabelle & Mitchell Lake
Summary: This description combines two short hikes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness into one. The two short hikes start from separate trailheads above 10,400', but are only separated by a short distance. The views from the destinations of the two would easily make a much longer hike worth the effort. Lake Isabelle is much more scenic than Mitchell Lake, but the scenery does improve past Mitchell Lake (not described here). Longer hikes are also available past Lake Isabelle. Because these hikes are very easy and short, expect there to be lots of people on the trail and at the lakes in summer.Distance: 6.3 miles totalElevation Gain/Loss: 660' totalSeason: July to mid-OctoberFees & Permits: Entrance fee to the Brainard Lake Recreation AreaFinding the Trailhead: Long Lake Trailhead (40.07785 N, 105.58456 W). From the CO-72/Brainard Lake Road intersection near Ward, CO, follow the Brainard Lake Road west for ~5.1 miles (past Brainard Lake) and turn right onto Mitchell Lake Road. After ~0.1 miles turn left onto Long Lake Road and follow it for ~0.4 miles to the trailhead parking lot. The trail begins off of the western end of the parking lot. Mitchell Lake Trailhead (40.08327 N, 105.58182 W). Follow the directions above, except stay on the Mitchell Lake Road for an additional ~0.3 miles to the trailhead parking lot instead of turning left onto Long Lake Road. The trail begins off the western end of the parking lot (Mt Audubon Trail begins off northern end).
The Hike: We began our hike at the Long Lake Trailhead. The trail immediately heads southwest through the mature spruce forest towards the outlet of Long Lake. At ~0.2 miles it intersects with the Jean Lunning Loop Trail, which loops around Long Lake. There really aren't any views of Long Lake unless you follow this trail for a short distance. Stay right at this intersection to continue off of the north shore of Long Lake. Now the trail begins to climb slightly. Now and again, the trail appears to approach a viewpoint looking over Long Lake but it never does. To see the lake, you'll have to head off-trail a short way to the shore. Near the western end of Long Lake, the trail intersects with the Jean Lunning Loop Trail for the second time at ~1.2 miles. Stay right again and begin climbing in more earnest to the west. The trail steadily climbs and briefly passes through an opening as it nears South St Vrain Creek. Here, are the first views of the Indian Peaks to the west. The trail next begins to switchback its way up before crossing South St Vrain Creek at ~2.0 miles. Continuing west, the views really open up after you come around a little bend and then come to the point where we took a side-trail to the shore of Lake Isabelle at ~2.15 miles. When we were here, the lake level was very low which allowed us to access a little peninsula (~2.25 miles) which is normally inundated. At normal lake levels, you'll access the shore by following a side-trail to the south, just after crossing over South St Vrain Creek, to the lake's outlet. At the outlet, during periods of normal lake levels, I expect there to be a pretty significant waterfall. As it were, we sat down on our little exposed peninsula and enjoyed the fantastic views of Shoshoni Peak, Isabelle Glacier (partial view), Apache Peak, and Navajo Peak over the lake. When we finally decided to leave, we returned to the trailhead the way we came. To get to the Mitchell Lake Trailhead, we jumped in our car and the drove the ~0.4 miles northeast. At the Mitchell Lake Trailhead, be sure to take the Mitchell Lake Trail which leaves from the western end of the parking lot and not the Mt Audubon Trail which leaves from the northern end. The Mitchell Lake Trail climbs pretty steadily through the mature forest. Because the forest is so thick here, there really aren't any views other than forest views. However, the forest holds its own beauty. At ~0.45 miles the trail crosses into the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Shortly after this, the trail levels momentarily as it approaches the outlet creek from Mitchell Lake. After crossing the pretty little creek on the footbridge, the trail resumes its climb to the northwest. At ~0.85 miles a junction with a side-trail leading to Mitchell Lake's eastern shore is met. If you wish to continue on to Blue Lake, stay left here. We took the side-trail to the lake shore (~0.9 miles) and found decent views of Pawnee Peak, Mt Toll, and Mt Audubon to the west and northwest. Mitchell Lake is not nearly as scenic as Lake Isabelle, but it is still pretty. The views from Blue Lake are supposed to be exceptional, however a storm was blowing in which was beginning to mask the peaks and we really weren't in the mood to continue. We took the same path back to the trailhead.
