Pitkin Lake - 8.9 Miles Round-Trip

Pitkin Lake (11,362') is located 4.45 miles north of Vail in the Eagles Nest Wilderness Area. It fills a large cirque just above treeline at the head of a broad, glacier-carved valley. The Pitkin Lake Trail climbs 2,886' in several steep stages into the upper valley, where the landscape opens to rolling alpine meadows on the approach to Pitkin Lake:

Trail Map | Photo Gallery

The trail crosses Pitkin Creek and begins a strenuous climb on a narrow, aspen-lined path. Grades moderate past .3 miles (8,955') on a grassy slope between thick aspen stands and the creek.

Travel steadies up a widening valley, introducing lodgepole, spruce and fir as you progress (1.0 miles : 9,302'). It joins the creek for a moment (1.5 miles : 9,516') before climbing steeply to a crest overlooking a wide berth in the valley, a good place to scan for wildlife (1.85 miles : 9,765').

The trail drops down the west side, bottoms out (2.0 miles : 9,715'), and climbs ruggedly out of the meadow with great views back down valley, and NE toward Pitkin Falls (2.5 miles : 10,087).

Travel intensifies to the base of a rockslide (2.7 miles : 10,272'), then makes another short, steep burst to a second crest over a large meadow where a major tributary joins Pitkin Creek (2.95 miles : 10,420').

Cross the meadow and begin a strenuous climb up the far side through a dense spruce-fir forest. Be mindful of false spurs along this shifting segment. The trail moderates on the edge of a thinning forest (3.35 miles : 10,765'), relaxing for a spell through small clearings and spruce stands.

Another short, steep push to 3.8 miles (10,975') moderates in a transitional forest beneath towering, sculpted walls of the upper valley. The trail bends northwest through an expanding alpine landscape and shoots up the valley's west side through the vestiges of treeline (4.0 miles : 11,072').

It scales a ridge and edges back to the valley center (4.25 miles : 11,277'), where it levels beside Pitkin Creek to the south edge of Pitkin Lake (4.45 miles : 11,362').

The Pitkin Lake basin is immense and, to see it all, you'll have to climb a bit up its southeast or southwest shore. From these points you'll also have great views back down valley that reveal hidden meadows, ponds and streams.