San Isabel National Forest
Silver Lake Trail #1354

This moderately difficult, 7 mile trail ends at a nice little fishing lake in the eastern Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Most traffic here is in the summer and fall.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 8,400'
• High Point: 11,900'
• Trail ending: 11,900'

Access: Just south of Hillside, turn off of State Road 69 and go west on County Road 198 (Lake Creek Road). The first 3 miles are in reasonable shape but then you come to 2WD parking near the sign for the Lutheran Camp. The 7 miles starts here. High clearance 4WD can sometimes drive nearly all the way to Silver Lake but the road gets progressively steeper, narrower and more rocky as you go (this is one of the worst roads in the Sangres, a mountain range renowned for the poor quality of its roads). The road ends about 1/2 mile below Silver Lake.

Notes: Silver Lake is in the glacier-carved cirque above treeline, below Cottonwood Peak (13,588'). Fishing success at the lake is rated fair.

USGS Maps: Electric Peak, Cotopaxi