North Halfmoon Lakes

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 5.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 10,582 - 12,076 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 4 hrs.
Trailhead: North Half Moon
Fee: none
Attractions: alpine lake

The North Halfmoon Lakes trail is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness Area of the San Isabel National Forest near Leadville, Colorado. From the North Halfmoon trailhead the route quickly crosses the wilderness boundary and continues a steady climb to two alpine lakes that sit in glacial basins on the west side of Mount Massive (14,423 ft.). The first half of the trail sees moderate use from hikers that are climbing the southwest Mount Massive route.

North Fork Creek

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 8 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 10,819 - 12,438 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 5 hrs.
Trailhead: North Fork Creek
Fee: none
Attractions: alpine lake

The North Fork Creek trail #1483 is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness Area of the San Isabel National Forest between Aspen and Leadville, Colorado. Traveling up the North Fork drainage the trail provides multiple hiking options. The most popular route leads up to the small but scenic North Fork Creek Lake. From there another trail crosses the Continental Divide into White River National Forest and descending to join the Fryingpan Lakes trail. There is also a route that climbs the west drainage and crosses the divide into the Marten Creek drainage, as well as routes to Deer Mountain Lake and Blue Lake.

Native Lake

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 7.8 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 10,774 - 11,860 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 4 hrs.
Trailhead: Native Lake
Fee: none
Attractions: subalpine lake

Native Lake is located a short distance west of Leadville, Colorado in the Mount Massive Wilderness Area of the San Isabel National Forest. A well maintained route takes the trail up to some expansive tundra meadows with beautiful views of Mount Massive before descending back into the forest and down to Native Lake.

Mount Massive

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 13.6 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 10,062 - 14,421 feet
Elevation gain: 4,920 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 10 hrs.
Trailhead: Mount Massive
Fee: none
Attractions: 2nd highest point in Colorado

Mount Massive (14,421) is the second highest point in the state of Colorado and in the Rocky Mountains of North America. It is located in the Sawatch Range of the San Isabel National Forest and Mount Massive Wilderness Area near the town of Leadville, Colorado. There are two routes that lead to the summit, the east slopes route and the southwest slopes route. This post follows the east slopes route which is the longer of the two routes but with a much more gradual ascent. It is also the only route that is accessible without a 4-wheel drive vehicle.