July 18, 2022

By Tim Briese

2.6 miles, 600’ elevation gain, 4:00 roundtrip time

My wife Teresa and I went on an outing to check out the wildflowers in American Basin in July. We hadn’t been there in years and it was time to check out this beautiful place again. Although it would be closer to stay in Lake City the night before, lodging is pretty skimpy there so we stayed in Gunnison and made the drive to American Basin early the next morning. We drove up the high clearance Cinnamon Pass Road on this beautiful sunny morning.

early morning at lake san cristobal along the cinnamon pass road

old buildings along the road

We took a spur road up to American Basin and parked at the first main parking area and climbed out to start taking photos. This is the spot where the calendar and poster shots are taken.

american basin

There were a number of other sightseers here this morning as well as climbers heading up into the basin on the Handies Peak trail. The trail stays to the east quite a ways above a small stream in the drainage but we elected to bushwhack right up along the stream where the wildflowers and photo opportunities were better. We slowly proceeded up the basin, taking our time to revel in the beauty of this place and to take numerous photos.

We eventually climbed about 600 feet to the upper part of the basin and enjoyed a nice lunch on the flowery tundra near the stream.

the upper basin

After proceeding some distance further to a point where the wildflowers were less profuse and lush we turned back and slowly retraced our steps back down the drainage. By the time we returned to the truck clouds had filled the sky and rainshowers were looming, and we drove back down the road and returned to Gunnison.