August 25, 2021

By Tim Briese

10.1 miles, 2500’ elevation gain, 10:45 roundtrip time

The hike to Blue Lakes in the San Juan Mountains near Ridgway is one of the premier hikes in the San Juans, and justifiably so, for the scenery is spectacular. I had briefly hiked past Lower Blue Lake when I climbed T0 in 2007 and looked forward to coming back now to more fully explore this beautiful place with my wife Teresa.

We drove the Dallas Creek Road south from Highway 62 several miles to the Blue Lakes Trailhead and arrived early in the morning shortly after the sun came up. This road is a little rough toward the end but passable for 2WD vehicles.

view of mt sneffels from the dallas creek road

Several other hikers and backpackers were milling about in the parking lot. We headed up the trail in the morning chill through the lush forest, on steep grades at times. Today was beautiful with deep blue skies and we took our time to enjoy and take a lot of photos. Mt. Sneffels towered impressively above to the southeast, and wildflowers graced much of the path. With our leisurely pace it took us about three hours to hike the three miles up to the lower lake.

on the blue lakes trail

The pretty lake lies in a scenic bowl beneath a ring of jagged peaks, including Dallas Peak to the southwest. The water in this lake is a wonderful turquoise color from the glacial flour in the water, a rather rare color for Colorado lakes, but which we had seen in many lakes in the Canadian Rockies. There were quite a few other hikers lounging around enjoying this special place and we did the same for a while.

lower blue lake

Then we returned to the outflow stream below the lake and crossed it and found the steep trail that climbs about 400 feet to the top of a headwall above the lake which affords spectacular views down into the lower basin.

a mushroom along the trail

view of lower blue lake from the trail above

From the top of the headwall the trail moderated quite a bit and we passed by the middle of the three Blue Lakes.

taking a break on the tundra; the middle lake is to the left

We continued on to the scenic upper lake.

looking back at the middle lake from the trail to the upper lake

upper blue lake

teresa by upper blue lake

We relaxed on the shore for a while and I took a quick dip in the chilly water before warming in the pleasant sunshine. We could see quite a few hikers on the trail above that switchbacks up to Blue Lakes Pass, some of whom were climbing Mt. Sneffels today. After enjoying this beautiful place for a while we began strolling back. Teresa remarked that this was one of the most beautiful hikes she had ever been on and wanted to soak it in as much as possible.

afternoon sunlight on the way back

mt. sneffels, at the upper left

mt. sneffels

We sauntered back to the trailhead early in the evening and headed to Ridgway for the night.

a view along the dallas creek road on the way back