Ice Lake Basin is a very popular hike in the San Juan Mountains, and for good reason. It is a not too strenuous hike through high alpine meadows, pine forests and with waterfalls at every turn. Seriously, if you love waterfalls this is the hike for you. They are present around every corner, and even when you can't see them, you can pretty much hear them throughout the entire hike. With all the running water, there are several small stream crossings during the hike and so I would suggest bringing a second pair of shoes to get wet on the crossings.
Directions: From Durango, travel north on Highway 550 about 50 miles to Silverton, CO. Continue on Highway 550 out of Silverton for 2 miles and turn left onto County Road 7 and drive 4.3 miles to a small parking lot on the right side of the road and that is right across from the South Creek Mineral Campground. The trail leaves from the western end of the parking lot. There are actually two trail heads for this hike. If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, you can drive up the road to Clear Lake (County Road 12) and park at the first sharp right-hand turn. Driving up to this second trail head cuts off about 500 vertical feet of elevation.
Trail: From the parking lot, the trail heads in the woods and begins to climb through numerous switchbacks. After about 0.8 miles, the switchback comes to an end and the trail comes to a "T." Head left to continue on the main trail. If you head to the right, you will come to a waterfall that you have to cross if you park at the upper trail head off of Clear Lake Road. When the water is low, crossing the stream below this waterfall is pretty easy. However, I hiked the trail from the upper trail head after a weekend of heavy rain, and crossing by this waterfall was quite difficult. From here, the trail climbs gently through the woods and into meadows strewn with wildflowers where there is one or two side trails to view a number of cascading water falls. After this meadow, the trail heads back into woods and begins to climb again through numerous switchbacks.
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| Lower Ice Lake Basin |
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| Waterfall down the headwall. |
The trail levels out after just over a 0.5 miles and enters into Lower Ice Lake Basin. The trail meanders through the Basin crossing several small streams and small, high alpine lakes. Wildflowers are plentiful and numerous waterfalls dot the Basin walls. After about 0.6 miles, the trail crosses a larger stream and then begins to climb through a traverse in the gap of a headwall down which numerous waterfalls cascade. After you hike through this traverse, the trail begins the final climb to Ice Lake making numerous switchbacks. At times, the trail seems more like a stream bed than a trail.
Once you crest this final climb, it is an easy walk to Ice Lake, which is named for its distinctive blue color caused by the silt content of the water. Surrounding Ice Lake are numerous 13,000 foot peaks, which offer a number of challenging climbs, if you are so inclined. In addition, you can hike to Fuller Lake, which is towards the south, or to Island Lake, which is towards the north. The round trip hike to Ice Lake is about 5.5 miles with a starting elevation of 9,800' and a final elevation of 12,275'.
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| Ice Lake |
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| Ice Lake |
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| Elevation Profile (one direction) |
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| Map to Ice Lake |
