Hiking to Highland Mary Lakes and Verde Lake

The hike to the Highland Mary Lakes and Verde Lake is a classic high country hike to mountain lakes surrounded by tall peaks and gently rolling tundra on the way to Verde Lake.  The hike starts at around 10,000 feet in elevation and climbs to around 12,000 with modest effort. It is a popular hike just east of Silverton and can get pretty busy on summer weekends.  There are many wonderful waterfalls to view as the trail travels along Cunningham Creek.


Directions: From downtown Durango, travel north and up the Animas Valley on Highway 550 about 50 miles to Silverton. Follow County Road 2 / Greene St. through downtown Silverton. On the other side of Silverton veer right on County Road 2 and drive about 5 miles and just over a bridge, take a right onto County Road 4.  Just a short while traveling down County Road 4, the road splits and you can take either way. If you go to the right, you will drive along the creek. If you go left, the road climbs a bit up the valley side and you will drive through the Old Hundred Gold Mine, which is still open for tours. After about a mile and a half from where the road splits, it comes back together. Take the road to the right, which is where County Road 4 continues. The road to the left is County Road 3, which begins to quickly climb up the valley side. From this road split, drive about another 3 miles - the last high 1/2 mile is pretty rough. There are two places to park. The first is just to the left off of County Road 4. The other is at the trailhead, but you have to follow a road that peels off to the left just before the other parking area and drive through a stream, but you need a high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle to get there.

Trail: The trail quickly climbs from the trailhead with Cunningham Creek to your right. After about a half mile, the trail forks. The trail to the the left begins a steep climb and is meant for livestock. The trail you want to follow is to the right, which crosses over a small stream and then some underbrush before approaching a tricky rocky are you have to hike through. After the rocky area, you will hike along the left side of the creek

Stream crossing at the sign.

and be able to view many wonderful waterfalls.  If you see a path veer off to the left, it will likely lead you to a waterfall.  At just under a mile, the trail appears to turn into a small stream and disappear. There will be a rocky outcrop to your right that you will need to scramble up to follow the trail. You can continue to hike the stream if you do not want to climb up the rocky outcrop. Following this route will bring you to a rock face. Go to the right to rejoin the trail as it climbs up yet another rocky outcrop. From here, the trail continues along the left side of Cunningham Creek, crossing a number of smaller streams along the way. Stay on the left side of Cunningham Creek until about the 1.5 mile mark, where you will come upon a sign pointing you across the Creek. After you cross one fork of the creek, go straight to cross yet another fork of the creek. There is a trail that goes off to the left and climbs above a small waterfall, but that is not the correct trail.
I found out the hard way and had to back track quite a bit.

Crossing the talus field to the small pond.

After crossing these two streams, the trail climbs for a bit and then heads into willow shrubs, crossing a number of small streams. You will climb up another steep section and come back to Cunningham Creek. The trail stays on the right side of the creek for a little while (as far as I can tell because this part of the trail was still under snow) before moving away from the Creek to the right into a talus field. The trail is hard to follow in the talus field but be on the look out for stacked rocks marking the trail. Once you cross through the talus field, hike through a boggy area with a small pond, jump over over a small stream and climb to the first of the Highland Mary Lakes (it has an island), follow the trail to the right of the lake, which will then take you to the second Highland Mary Lake. The trail continues on the left side of the second lake and climbs a bit to the third and largest lake. There are many nice places to camp around the second and

Second Highland Mary Lake

third lakes.

I decided to continue on and make the hike to Verde Lake. Follow the path past the third lake, cross yet another stream, and being to climb through high alpine tundra. You will see a number of poles marking the trail. You will come to a crest, where the trail heads to the left and begins a steep climb. The trail at this point becomes the Continental Divide Trail and you can follow it to loop back to near the parking lots at the trailhead. Instead, I headed to the right going downhill to Verde Lake. There is no much of a trail, but tundra makes it very easy going. I hiked up to a rock bluff and enjoyed a nice lunch with a marmot keeping close track of me. The alpine flowers were just starting to appear and I decided to make a little snowman to

Verde Lake

mark the turn around point of my hike.

Round trip to Verde Lakes was just about six miles, adding an extra mile from the third Highland Mary Trail. My starting elevation was 10,900 feet and my highest elevation was 12,389 feet. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed this hike more if I would have waited until the end of July or August to do it so that things dry up a bit. In June, there is still a bit of snow to deal with and the streams were running pretty high, making some of the stream crossings a little difficult. It is a very picturesque hike but can be a little frustrating with all the false trails leading off of the main one. I had to back track one or two times. If I had to choose a hike to high alpine lakes in the San Juan Mountains, Ice Lake Basin is still the best but Highland Mary / Verde Lakes makes for a nice alternative.

Waterfall along Cunningham Creek.

Elevation Profile with from Verde Lake (left) to trailhead (right).

Hike to Verde Lake