Hiking and Camping Southwest Colorado: American Basin / Sloan Lake

American Basin is a popular hiking destination, located northeast of Silverton, Colorado, because of its natural beauty, abundant wildflowers, and that it is bordered on the east by Handies Peak, one of Colorado's famous 14'ers.

Directions: From Durango, head north on Highway 550 to Silverton, CO. Take Greene Street through Silverton, and on the far side of town, veer right onto County Road 2. Not far out of town, the road will turn to gravel. The road is quite smooth until just past the old mining town of Eureka, which is now a campground area. Past Eureka, the road gets more rough and 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive is recommended. From Eureka, travel about four miles to the old mining ghost town of Animas Fork.

Views of Cinnamon Pass.

The road forks here with the left forking heading down to Animas Fork. Continue on the right fork for about a quarter mile to where the Cinnamon Pass Road peels sharply off to the right and heads steeply up hill. From here, it is about two miles to the top of Cinnamon Pass, elevation 12,600. This is a very picturesque drive above timberline with great views of high alpine tundra and the surrounding peaks, including Cinnamon and Wood Mountains. The back side of Cinnamon Pass gets quite rough and you definitely must have 4-wheel drive or you will get yourself in serious trouble. After about two miles, Cinnamon Pass Road will intersect Grizzly Gulch Trail. Take a sharp right and drive just under a mile over a rough road to a parking lot. The Handies Peak trail leaves from here.

Looking back at the parking lot. Trail is to the right.

The Trail: The trail head is located at the parking lot and starts out as a double track. It climbs gradually through high alpine meadows that are full of wildflowers during July and August. After about a half-mile, the trail travels through a bit of a scree field and wraps around a sharp bend and continues to gradually climb. About a tenth of a mile later, the trail crosses over a small stream, and if you look to your left, you will see a lovely waterfall that is an easy hike to and above if you would like a closer look. A quarter-mile after the stream crossing, the trail takes a left and begins to climb a steeper section up to a ridge, gaining about 300' in elevation.

Hiking along high alpine wetlands.

Once over the ridge, the trail levels out for a time allowing you to hike through some high alpine wetlands and to enjoy the surrounding views and the sounds of pikas and marmots that populate the basin. There is another small stream crossing at this point. It was in this area that I came across about ten ptarmigans, a rare site indeed. After a quarter-mile, the trail begins another steep ascent that will bring you to Sloan Lake.

The trail does not actually go to the lake but you can see an obvious turn-off trail that will take you to its shores. You can stop here and enjoy the lake, or continue on the trail for the steep ascent to Handies Peak, which I believe is just two miles past Sloan Lake, but gains well over a 1000' of vertical to reach the summit. I decided to save the hike to Handies Peak for another day due to a late start and because dark clouds were starting to role into the area. Nothing quite as dangerous as being caught in a thunderstorm on top of a mountain peak. The hike to Sloan Lake is just about 1 3/4 miles and makes an easy day hike.