Lower, Middle, and Upper Blue Lakes – and Blue Lakes Pass!

Clouds sail above mountains and a trail on a meadowed hillside above a blue alpine lake — The trail above Middle Blue Lake

I heard Blue Lake in Colorado was implementing a permit system, and I determined I would visit before the system went into place. That was no easy feat, but we did it, and I’m so glad we did! The scenery was absolutely spectacular, the lakes were lovely, and now I’m dreaming of going back to the San Juans to check out more hikes in the area. But to the point of this post, we ended up seeing Blue Lake, Middle Blue Lake, Upper Blue Lake, and then continuing up to Blue Lakes Pass (mostly used by summit baggers heading for 14er Mount Sneffels). You don’t have to do all of this, but I do recommend Upper Blue Lake if you have time and energy – it’s stunning!

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 6.6-12.6 miles Trail Type: Out & back Elevation Gain: 4,419ft. Pets: Yes Fees: None

A trail beside green meadows and wildflowers on a steep slope leads toward craggy peaks and clouds — Wildflowers along the trail below Blue Lake Pass

The trail was closed during the 2025 season, but it will hopefully reopen in 2026 with permits. On the experience of one day, I’d say they don’t really need day hiking permits as much as backpacking permits – the entire area around Lower Blue Lake was flattened by backpackers (not day hikers, but backpackers). So overused.

A white wildflower with a yellow center and purple outer leaves in greenery — Colorado columbine

But the trails, etc., really weren’t that bad compared to a lot of places, especially in the High Sierra (which I’d visited earlier on the same cross-continent adventure, and no one seems to be accusing most of those trails of being overused). While these had seen some use, I wouldn’t have called most of them “overused” at all. So I hope the powers that be open up the area to day hiking again in the future. I hear there are some improvements happening to the trailhead, including new restrooms and signboards.

A waterfall tumbles between narrow cliffs and nearby very green fir trees — The waterfall along the trail – I lifted my camera above my head and hoped for the best!

0.0 Blue Lake Trailhead (9,362ft.). Walk around the gate and continue to follow the trail. It almost immediately begins uphill, and it will continue uphill for most of the trek. The path is through the forest at this point. Enter the Mount Sneffels Wilderness about mile 1.4. After this, views begin to open up to classic San Juan-style mountains. Wildflowers fill the meadows in the summer. You’ll also be able to hear a waterfall, but you never get a very good view of it. (38.0345420°, -107.8064340°)

Meadows and a rocky trail gives way to craggy peaks and blue skies with clouds — The trail to Lower Blue Lake

3.3 Trail Junction (10,981ft.). The left trail crosses the Lower Blue Lake Outlet and heads up toward Middle Blue Lake. For now you want to turn right and head up to Lower Blue Lake. There are a ton of social trails in this area, most of them leading to camping sites. Try to stay on the main path. (38.0026760°, -107.8168740°)

A trail in a meadow beside a lake leads past two fir trees with mountains beyond the lake — A social trail along Lower Blue River Lake – the sun was in the wrong place for photographs in the early morning

3.35 Lower Blue Lake (10,981ft.). Turn right to work your way along the right (western) side of the lake. Actually, you can probably go left, too, but you’ll pretty quickly come to the lake’s outlet. Views are gorgeous over the lake and to nearby mountains. (As a total side note, I arrived very early in the morning, and I don’t know what a group of teens was doing beside the lake, but they shaped up their act as soon as they saw us coming. I saw their leader later (middle-aged guy), and he was one weird cookie – the kind I try to get away from about as fast as I can. So I’m sure you’ll have a much better experience at Lower Blue Lake than I did.) Many people turn around here, but I opted to go back to the junction and head up toward Middle and Upper Blue Lakes. (38.0022400°, -107.8164830°)

Mountains in the background of a stream in a forest with a hiker looking at the stream — A hiker contemplating crossing the Lower Blue Lake Outlet

3.4 Lower Blue Lake Outlet (10,979ft.). There are quite a few places to cross; I chose one with some promising-looking logs and didn’t get wet feet. Beyond the crossing, head up – and when I say up, I mean up! The path skyrockets upward at an alarming pace, and the trail is both very narrow and very slippery in places. In fact, I wondered for a bit if we were on a social trail; it just didn’t look that well-used. Hiking poles are useful, especially when coming back down. There are a few places where Lower Blue Lake can be seen clearly below you. This is an absolutely spectacular view, one of the best on the entire hike. Sadly, the sun decided to go under just when I got to this point on both the trek up and the trek down, so my photos don’t do the view anything close to justice. (38.002678°, -107.816454°)

Rocks and meadows fall away toward a very blue lake with meadows, a rockslide, and forests on the shore — Looking down on Lower Blue Lake

4.2 Junction for Middle Blue Lake (11,566ft.). A trail on left goes down to Middle Blue Lake – the main trail doesn’t go to the lake, so if you want to visit it, you’ll need to take this detour. On my way up, I didn’t (because I figured the trail would go along the lake, just like most trails near lakes), so I won’t include the detour in my mileage, though I did go to the lake’s outlet on my way back down. The trail passes above Middle Blue Lake and then ascends a meadowed slope to get to Upper Blue Lake. Views are very good along this part of the trail. (38.0018160°, -107.8107090°)

Rocky crags rise from a lake and meadows with bushes in the foreground — Upper Blue Lake from where the trail crosses the lake’s outlet

4.7 Upper Blue Lake Outlet (11,724). The trail crosses the outlet and runs along the lake’s left shore (eastern shore) before beginning to take long switchbacks up the hillside. What is meadows at first becomes scree, but the trail remains in good shape. Views become better and better as you climb. This is one spectacular (and hard!) hike! Near the ridgeline, there are a few short Class 3 scrambles – use caution as there is some exposure in places. (37.9991940°, -107.8055000°)

Clouds sail over rugged mountains with two lakes and meadows in the valley — Upper and Middle Blue Lakes and surrounding mountains from near the pass

6.2 Blue Lakes Pass (12,979ft.). The views from both sides of the pass are beyond spectacular. Yankee Boy Basin is on the far side – if you have a good jeep, you can drive to the basin and then hike from there (and if you don’t have a jeep, you can drive partway up the road and hike up – no need for permits from that direction!) (37.9980470°, -107.7951470°)

Clouds sail over rugged crags with grass and rocks on a ridgeline — The route up Mount Sneffels… doesn’t look like much fun

What I should have done at this point – what would have been the responsible, reasonable thing to do at this point – was to turn around in the pass and go back. Or maybe turned left and headed up toward Mount Sneffels, like most of the other hikers around me. Instead, we succumbed to altitude-brain, turned right, and scrambled along the ridgeline. It was great on multiple counts, one is the views, and another is that we left everyone else behind very quickly. However, it was some serious Class 3 scrambling with a few Class 4 moves. I don’t recommend it unless you’re comfortable with scrambling and some amount of exposure.

Rocky crags and a rocky ridgeline with brown and gray dirt and rocks — Scrambling along the ridgeline. Much more fun!

We went about 0.15 miles along the ridge before remembering that we had to get back before dark. (Actually, the afternoon thundershower held off for us that afternoon, and I’m so grateful – people who had been in the area the day before told us of the crazy storm they’d endured in place of the normal monsoon.) So we “just” had to retrace our steps down, and down, and down back to the trailhead!

Clouds sail over mountains an a grassy valley — Yankee Boy Basin from the ridgeline – the views from the pass are similar, but the sun wasn’t out when I was in the pass and it was out while I was on the ridgeline

Round Trip Trail Length: I went 12.6 miles; there are multiple ways you could make it shorter

Elevation Gain: 4,419ft. (9,341ft. to 12,989ft.)

Trees like the shore of a lake with reflections of the trees — Reflections in Lower Blue Lake

Facilities: None in 2024, though I hear they are installing trailhead vault toilets

Fees: None

Wildflowers in the foreground with a rocky hillside and then a waterfall and trees in the background — A waterfall and wildflowers near Lower Blue Lake

Trail Notes: This is one hard hike! It was the last hike for me on a four-week trip where we hiked 200 miles in the Pacific Northwestern US (and one hike in Colorado), so we had some pretty good trail legs. Even so, the elevation was hard on me, as was the extremely steep trail. Hiking in September or before the snow falls in October is best to avoid the daily afternoon thunderstorms. Or start at 3am – no judgment here!

Purple and white wildflowers beside a lake below meadows and forests and mountains — Wildflowers along Lower Blue Lake

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this?

Overall Rating:

Yellow flowers with puffy yellow centers and many yellow petals — Orange sneezeweed along the trail

GPS Coordinates for Blue Lake

TH: 38.0345420°, -107.8064340° (38°02.07252′, -107°48.38604′ / 38°02’04.3512″, -107°48’23.1624″) (9,362ft.) (0.0)

Enter Wilderness: 38.0209460°, -107.8209210° (38°01.25676′, -107°49.25526′ / 38°01’15.4056″, -107°49’15.3156″) (10,337ft.) (1.46)

Mountains, meadows, and forests above a very blue lake — The mountains surrounding Lower Blue Lake from above

Junction (upper vs. lower): 38.0026760°, -107.8168740° (38°00.16056′, -107°49.01244′ / 38°00’09.6336″, -107°49’00.7464″) (10,981ft.) (3.31)

Lower Blue Lake: 38.0022400°, -107.8164830° (38°00.13440′, -107°48.98898′ / 38°00’08.0640″, -107°48’59.3388″) (10,981ft.) (3.35)

A lake in a meadow with rocky mountains above — Middle Blue Lake

Overlook of Middle Blue Lake: 38.0014660°, -107.8103940° (38°00.08796′, -107°48.62364′ / 38°00’05.2776″, -107°48’37.4184″) (11,601ft.) (4.39)

Head up (Upper Blue Lake Outlet): 37.9991940°, -107.8055000° (37°59.95164′, -107°48.33000′ / 37°59’57.0984″, -107°48’19.8000″) (11,724ft.) (4.72)

Wildflowers and a trail in a meadow beside a lake with mountains and clouds in the distance — The trail above Upper Blue Lake

Blue Lakes Pass: 37.9980470°, -107.7951470° (37°59.88282′, -107°47.70882′ / 37°59’52.9692″, -107°47’42.5292″) (12,979ft.) (6.14)

Middle Lake Junction: 38.0018160°, -107.8107090° (38°00.10896′, -107°48.64254′ / 38°00’06.5376″, -107°48’38.5524″) (11,566ft.) (8.32)

Pink and yellow wildflowers on the slopes of a red mountains with views down to two blue lakes in a meadow — Wildflowers high on the way up to Blue Lake Pass

Middle Blue Lake (near outlet): 38.0021040°, -107.8100190° (38°00.12624′, -107°48.60114′ / 38°00’07.5744″, -107°48’36.0684″) (8.37)

End: 38.0346400°, -107.8071390° (38°02.07840′, -107°48.42834′ / 38°02’04.7040″, -107°48’25.7004″) (9,359ft.) (12.61)

Rugged mountain peaks beside a steep hillside with a rocky trail — The trail switchbacking below Blue Lake Pass

The gpx file for Blue Lakes can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

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(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website. Thanks!)

Rugged and slightly snowy mountains above two blue lakes — Upper Blue Lake and Middle Blue Lake from the ridgeline

Getting to Blue Lake

From US-550 in Ridgway, turn onto CO-62W for 4.8 miles. Turn left onto County Road 7 for 0.4 miles, then take a slight left to stay on County Road 7. After 1.7 miles, take a slight right to stay on the same for another 6.8 miles to the trailhead. Note that there is a lot of private property along the road, so be careful where you park. When I visited, people free-range camped up near the trailhead, but I don’t know how the rules will change with the 2025 improvements.

A very large moth with antennae enjoying a purple flower — A white-lined sphinx moth enjoying subalpine larkspur

From Ouray, take US-550 for 10 miles to turn left onto County Road 62 W toward Ridgway. Follow the directions (above) to the trailhead.

Visual trail map for my hike from the Blue Lakes Trailhead to Blue Lake Pass

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