Bucket List Hike: Western Colorado’s Breathtaking Ice Lake Trail Near Silverton

If you love to walk through beautiful flowering meadows surrounded by gorgeous mountain peaks, the Ice Lake Trail should be right up your alley.

Ice Lake Trail Is A Popular Western Colorado Hike

You'll find the Ice Lake Trail near Silverton, and as you might guess, the best time to do this mountain hike is during the summer and the fall. It's an extremely popular hike and when you see the images below you will completely understand why. The Ice Lake Trail is a special place.

Ice Lake Trail Is Challenging

While you may be wowed by the beauty of the wildflowers, the blue lakes, and mountain peaks, it's going to take a pretty good effort to do the hike. The length of the hike is 3.75 miles one way with an elevation gain of nearly 3,000 feet. Your lungs will definitely get a good workout.

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Watch the Weather and Plan Your Hike

A couple of things to keep in mind when you do the Ice Lake Trail. The upper half of the trail is above timberline which means there won't be much natural shelter from the events. You need to keep an eye on the weather forecast and time your hike accordingly so you can avoid dangerous exposure at the top.

The Early Bird Gets To Hike

The other thing to know is the parking lot is oftentimes full by 7:00 a.m. Parking is not allowed along the side of the road, so if the lot is full when you arrive you'll need to consider doing another hike.