Stats, trail tips and important information regarding this trail are located at the bottom of the blog post. Unless explicitly noted, all pictures in this blog are owned by me and should otherwise not be used without expressed written consent.

Lost Man Lake was part of an awesome summer Colorado trip in 2024. We woke up at 4:30 AM, then we drove over fourteen hours from Austin, TX to Buena Vista, CO. This positioned us to within an hour of Lost Man Lake, and not far from Aspen.

The Lost Man Lake trailhead is easy to find, a parking lot at the edge of a road switchback. Once you arrive, there is a rushing waterfall to greet you…

This looks like a hiking “money shot”, huh? Nope. This is directly adjacent to the parking lot and trailhead. We knew we were in for a treat.

If you’re an avid hiker, you learn that the trailhead and first .5 miles have a disproportionately larger number of hikers. Presumably this is because some want to get just a taste of the trail, then turn around. Sometimes weather and trail complexity is a factor, of course. The trail is a steady, upward trajectory until you get to the top with levels of difficulty from mild to moderate. The mountain views are constant and beautiful…

About 1-2 miles into the hike, there is a river crossing of the Roaring Fork River. No, this isn’t a walk-through-the-water situation. It is more interesting than that…

Even during July, the snowmelt at this elevation isn’t complete. We had to walk over packed snow that was hovering over the rushing creek, being alert to the possibility of collapse at any moment. Thankfully we tip toed through without any issues.

Check this out…

A reminder that the views are amazing throughout the hike…

As you are closer to the top, the trees begins to disappear and you’re left with grass, boulders, scree, snow and some modest plant life…

And the higher you go, of course the more snow you will encounter. We first spotted Independence Lake which was still totally frozen. To complete the hike, you must hike to a rocky ridge that affords views of both lakes. The prairie dogs seem to like this particular spot. They were chirping at one another as we were taking pictures at the top …

And here is the big shot, a view of Lost Man Lake and Independence Lake – both sides of the ridgeline…

With the lakes mostly frozen, early July isn’t the absolutely perfect time to do this hike – that would most likely be late August. But the trail still has an enormous amount of beauty. Check out these flowers growing in the stream…

Here’s Howie striking a pose headed down the mountain…

And my final picture is a bend in the river as we were headed back down…

This is an out-and-back trail so what you see the latter half of the hike is the same (but in a different perspective). Although Howie loved the hike, we realized after the fact the poor buddy wasn’t prepared for the sun. He had a case of sunburn for a few days and was lethargic. Thankfully we gave him lots of treats and let him relax for a few days to recover. We also bought some doggy sunscreen. Lesson learned.

All in all, it was a beautiful and exhilarating hike. We ate lunch afterwards in Aspen. Frankly, Aspen wasn’t a place we were enamored with so we were on to the next adventure!

Total Distance/Time: 5.5 miles in 3 hrs 38 min

Calories Burned: 2,482 (Pixel Watch)

Trail Type: Out-and-back

Trail Features: River, mountains, lakes, boulders/scree, prairie dogs, wildflowers, snow

Best Time to Hike: August

Trail Tips: Wear sunscreen. If you have a white dog, use doggy sunscreen! Be prepared for creek crossings. Know this is a relatively significant calorie burn.

Difficulty Rating: 7.5/10

Trailhead Coordinates: 39.1245500, -106.5817900