Date Hiked: June 19, 2023

Distance: 4.1 mi (RT)

Elevation Gain: 150 ft

Elevation Min/Max: 8,336 to 8,428 ft

Trailhead Lat/Long: 40.11150, -105.74764

Managing Agency: U.S. Forest Service

Fee: None

Directions:

From Granby turn north onto U.S. Highway 34, travel approximately six miles to County Road (CR) 6. Turn east onto CR 6 (Arapaho Bay Road/NFSR 125), and drive 10 miles to the parking area.

Hike Description:

Monarch Lake is a large lake in a chain of large lakes on the Western edge of the Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park.  The hike around the lake is a bit longer than most lake perimeter hikes, about 4 miles, but it’s flat and easy, and enters the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area on the eastern end of the lake.

The hike starts at the Monarch Lake Trailhead and, if you following the trail counter clockwise, immediately breaks off onto the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The views from the first part of the hike, along the eastern shore, are wonderful, you can just make out the high peaks over the horizon and the mountains reflected in the still lake waters is quite the sight.  

When not looking out across the lake, the trail cuts through pine forest, along and across creeks, past cascades, and alongside wetland meadows…look out for moose…   On the far end of the lake you leave the CDT, you spend some time on the Arapaho Pass Spur Trail before returning on the Cascade Creek Trail.

This is an easy hike in the Indian Peaks Wilderness but it provides a great scenic experience.