The Tuhare Lakes are located 5.6 miles from Tigiwon Road in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The upper lake occupies a large cirque carved from the Holy Cross Ridge, and the lower lake is 275' below in a scenic bench. The Fall Creek Trail runs high along the valley wall to Lake Constantine, past which the Tuhare Lakes Trail splits west on a challenging climb to the lakes.

The Tuhare Lakes are located below the Holy Cross Ridge, the easternmost of three major ridges in the Holy Cross Wilderness

Lake Constantine (11,371') is flanked by relatively low-rising, smooth granite walls that give the basin an airy feel

View of Lower Tuhare Lake on the 275' climb to Upper Tuhare Lake

The Fall Creek Trail opens after 1.3 miles with exceptional views across the valley to distant peaks in the Gore Range

A cirque is defined as a bowl-shaped depression with steep sides that form at the head of a mountain glacier

Indian Paintbrush belongs to a genus of 200 species of partially or fully parasitic plants that derive nourishment from the roots of other plants

Cutthroat trout, notably abundant in Lake Constantine, are aggressive feeders that will hit almost any lure or fly

Queen's Crown - Rhodiola rhodantha - is very similar in appearance and habitat to King's Crown; one primary distinction is the Queen's lighter color

Lower Tuhare Lake (12,090') is surrounded by thick alpine grasses and large boulders

Arnica and sunflowers can be difficult to distinguish, as both belong to the Asteraceae (aster) family

The Tuhare Lakes Trail scales the right side of this waterfall, which is the outlet stream of the lower lake

Asters belong to one of the largest taxonomic groups of vascular plants with over 20,000 species

The tallest part of a cirque is called the headwall; the lowest side is the lip, where the glacier flowed away from the cirque

The Mertensia genus was named after German botanist F. K. Mertens

Kings Crown (Rhodiola rosea) is found only at higher elevations in damp soil beds

Larkspur is a member of the delphinium family, a word derived from the Greek 'delphis', or dolphin

Globe Flowers' scientific name is Trollius albiflorus; 'troll' means 'globe' in Latin

Elephants Head, a member of the figwort family (which also includes foxglove and snapdragons), favors damp alpine meadows

Beard Tongue is a member of the Penstemon genus, in which there are at least 250 species

Paintbrush roots (genus Castilleja) have specialized parts called haustoria, which attach to the roots of other plants and draw away nutrients