| About Medicine Bow and Routt National Forests |
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| North Lake Trail |
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Trail Number:
1,164
Usage:
Moderate to Heavy
Length, One-way:
5.4 Miles
Ending Elevation:
10,750 Feet
Elevation Gain:
2,360 Feet
Difficulty:
Moderate
Beginning Elevation:
8,390 Feet
USGS Maps:
Mt Ethel; smaller portion on Farwell Mtn and Mt Zirkel
Reservation:
No
Season:
Summer - Fall
From Steamboat Springs, Take HWY 40 west of town and turn right onto County Road 129, Elk River Road. Travel north about 18 miles to the Seedhouse Road (Forest Road 400;also County Road 64) and turn right. Go past Seedhouse Campground then turn right onto Forest Road 443. Continue past Three Island Lake Trailhead, 1.5 miles to the 1164 trailhead.
Location Information
NOTE: This area and the trails that begin from Slovonia are the most heavily used in the district, often overused. If you are interested in solitude and less people, please consult the information on less used trails and choose your route accordingly.
ATTRACTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS:
Hikers can take this trail to the Wyoming Trail #1101 on the Divide. The terrain is characterized by forest opening into meadows with intermittent trees by the lake, and on up to the Divide. Travelers will enjoy views of the Yampa Valley and surrounding mountains. If you take a short detour to the east, you may see
North Park and the Medicine Bow Range.
NARRATIVE: This trail crosses into the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness near its beginning, and then goes left at the first fork (Dome Lake Trail #1169 is the right fork). It begins with a steep climb with switchbacks through the spruce. As you climb there are more lodgepole pine and the trail is less steep. Before you arrive at the lake, there is an unimproved trail through a meadow that goes to Wolverine Basin. Soon you reach the lake, and as you go past, you will find more open meadow and fairly easy walking up to the Divide.
NOTE: Always be prepared for quick changes in the weather in the high country: Dress and be prepared for extremes.
LEAVE NO TRACE As humans, we must minimize our impacts to help preserve this resource for present and future generations.
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