Took a solo trip with Mozzy to Chicago Lakes. We left a little bit to be discovered.
The hike began by parking at Echo Lake. We arrived 10am on a Monday morning and the parking was already limited. We normally do not start hikes this late. Parking and crowds is usually a big reason for that. Despite how many cars there were, the trail itself wasn’t that busy.
This trail is 11.5 miles round trip. We only hiked to the lower lake ~9 miles roundtrip. There were a couple reasons for this. One, it started raining as soon as we got to the lower lake (that’s why you go early, kids) and two, I thought it would be nice to leave a little bit of the hike so I could come back to complete it with Mason and Ohso.
A few highlights/tips:
The hike begins by declining the first mile or so. Keep that in mind when you are hiking out. You will have to hike that mile incline to get back to the car.
There are four lakes to see on this trip. You start by parking at Echo Lake. The second body of water is a large reservoir that you can fish. Then the last two, Lower and Upper Chicago Lakes.
The Chicago Lakes trail actually begins after passing the reservoir. You begin hiking that decline that I mentioned. That trail connects to a gravel road that you take up for about half mile/mile (The gravel road is surrounded by private property so stay on the trail/road). You’ll then pass the reservoir and a few cabins and the Chicago Lakes trails is up the road to your right.
I came across a few back packers that were spending the night at the Lake then summiting to Mt. Evans the following day. I thought that would be a really fun way to summit Evans. Just something to keep in mind.
