Lost Lake Trail — Attraction in Nederland

Started at the Hessie Trailhead. Parking is limited, but not too hard to park a little ways out and walk the extra couple hundred meters. After hiking in on Hessie you'll reach a noticeable sign that will tell you it's a mile out to Devils thumb and lost lake. Keeping left will take you to the lake. There is a little bit of incline before you get to the lake. It was quite slushy with some running water when I went last week (mid April). The lake is tucked away and doesnt take too long to walk around either. The lake itself is still frozen now in April. Would love to see it in summer. Trails are obvious for the most part but unmarked. Junction signs are old and broken down in some parts. Having secondary mapping like phone GPS would be advised for those not from the area. The trail is popular so you can ask locals for...

We did Lost Lake via Hessie Trail yesterday 2.14.2019 and while this is a relatively short hike (only 4.1 miles roundtrip) it does have a steady elevation gain of 869' with the last .2 miles at a steeper grade (about 25% steeper).

We did this trail with micros. But it was a cold and very windy day and the snow did drift onto the well-packed trail but nothing too drastic or need of snowshoes. Good thing too since we left them in the car.

Starting at 8,989' did give me some trouble breathing but traveling at a pace of about 1.5 mph the total trip was about 4 hours and that was with spending about 20 minutes at the lake to take pictures. It was a little too cold to spend any longer than that up there.

If you plan to hike this trail arrive early since parking is limited in space and alongside the road leading to...

Fun little hike with a couple big waterfalls and lots of views along the way. The hike is about 4 miles round-trip, with a little less than 1000ft in elevation gained along the way. It gets a sort of steep in places, but if you take your time, you'll make it. Once you're at Lost Lake, there are several camp sites around the lake (you need to reserve them in advance, I believe) with views of nearby peaks and the Continental Divide in the distance. This would be a great place to take your kids for their first back country backpacking experience. Be advised: the trailhead has limited parking that fills up fast. Going on weekdays or early on the morning will ensure a parking spot, or you can ride the shuttle from the nearby town...