Rating - 6

Directions

From Colorado Springs take Hwy 24 west for approximately 76 miles to Hwy 24/285. Turn left (south) on Hwy 24/285 for about 14 miles until the highway passes over the Arkansas River then turn left (south) onto Hwy 285. Go 5 miles to just past Nathrop and take a right (west) on Chafee County Rd. 162. Travel about 15 miles to just before St. Elmo and take a left on FR295. Travel on FR295 for .25 mile and take the second left. You will be driving through a small residential before starting on the trail, take the left fork in the road to the creek.

Trail Description

Grizzly Lake is a short trail, only about 2.5 miles in length and is an out and back trail. Immediately after entering the trail you will encounter a small creek that is not very deep but makes up for the lack of depth by being very wide. There is a small obstacle as you climb out of the creek. Wait just a couple of minutes to let your tires dry as you will be presented with a rock obstacle just after the creek, that is possibly the most difficult on the trail and is best climbed with dry tires. Shortly after the first obstacle is another difficult obstacle on the trail. While there is a bypass to this second obstacle its sometimes easier to take this obstacle head on. This portion of the tree is fairly steep, which increases the difficulty of these obstacles.

After these obstacles the trail turns to a rather bumpy trail that alternately takes you through a dense forest or open shelf road with many switchbacks. You will want to stop on some of the switchbacks to take photos as this portion of the trail has many scenic mountains and valleys.

At the end of the trail is a very scenic lake which of course is the source for the name of the trail and has some very good fishing spots.    

Grizzly Lake

GPS Coordinates: 38° 42' 12.77" N, 106° 20' 35.57"W