Diamond Lake Trail

Drove there on 11-9-19, and the gate to the Fourth of July trail head was already closed for the season, which would tack ~8 additional miles onto this hike. At least New Moon Bakery & Cafe in Nederland had good baked goods & coffee.

A little bit of snow on the ground and iced over waterfalls to cross but overall a great doable hike. Beautiful spots along the way to stop and soak up the views.

Excellent hike! Beautiful scenery the whole way. Lots of ice and snow today so bring your spikes. Bathrooms at the trailhead are still open.

Beautiful views the whole way to the lake. A few icy patches to watch out for, and a fair amount of snow on the second half leading to the lake but nothing too bad. I didn’t have any spikes or sticks and had no problem. The creeks are mostly frozen with some cool icy waterfalls, and there’s still a little bit of fall color left but fading quick. The July 4th road is pretty rough from the lost lake trailhead, so as long as you have an SUV or truck you will be fine. Will definitely be back to go to Arapaho pass!

Stunning views. Recommend taking the trail to Diamon Lake. Fall colors are a plus! Dog favorite. Watch out to take on the uneven dirt roads that lead to parking with a suitable vehicle.

Best hike out of the area, IMO. I loved the start at Fourth of July Trailhead. My dogs were in love! Would rate this as easy; my baby Maltese wasn’t tired after getting home. Definitely bring warm clothes for the wind

Enjoyed this hike, the lake at the end is beautiful! Nice spot to sit down and relax before going back out. I wore the wrong shoes and it was a bit rocky. Really frustrating when people don't have their dogs on a leash though. Having a "leash aggressive" dog myself (who I always have patiently sit to the side when people pass) always makes me nervous and one dog came running at us without being on a leash so I had to pick my 40lb dog up. Not cool, not even an apology either

Great, calm trail. The lake was a little chilly and windy, but nothing crazy or overwhelming. Absolutely worth it

Very windy once at the lake. Trail was in good condition. Bring extra layers.

Gorgeous hike and easy trail. Lots of shade and the lake is really pretty!!

Be careful with the road up to the trail on this one, it’s in very bad condition with lots of potholes and quite narrow in places with drop off the side, and unless you have a SUV or 4x4 it’s going to be rough but can still be done. The hike itself is quite rocky in places and you have to cross several streams and waterfalls where rocks can be a bit slippery but the view at the top is amazing! I tried to go up Upper Diamond Lake but only made it as far as the Middle lake this time but still worth it if you want a little more challenge. The trail isn’t marked well but just before the inlet is a big log you have to cross over, take a right there and follow that small trail to head up to Middle Lake and eventually Upper Lake

Really pretty. The colors there in the late summer/early fall are incredible. The lake was amazing, also saw a bunch of marmots(?) on the rocks to the east(?). However I was bit by an off-leash dog by the lake. So now I’m out over $100 for a new windbreaker because the owners bailed. Please leash your animals.

One of my favorite so far! The trail is pretty busy but once into the lake plenty of room to spread out. It’s a bit rocky but manageable. Lots of creek crossing and a couple of waterfalls. Moose are very active had a mama and her two babies cross in front of me. Got to the trail head a bit later than I wanted but if you just be patient people continuously walk out and spots open.

This was our first hike in Denver and it was great. It took us about 4 hours not going quickly and stopping at the lake for lunch. We parked about 8am and there was plenty of parking and we saw only a few people on the trail. On our way back we passed quite a few. Some snow but nothing bad at all and never felt like we needed crampons.

loved the hike.great views. lots of dogs and people. definitely would consider doing it again..

Beautiful and large lake. Got there at 8 and there was still parking but a bit further. Took us 4 hours round trip with us spending time with the pup just around the lake so really without a dog it’d take you 3 hours max. Got back to the trailhead by 12 and there were lots of open spots.

The views on this trail are absolutely gorgeous! That being said, the trail is very poorly maintained. Roots and rocks everywhere, made coming down difficult. I almost fell numerous times from tripping on things. They tried with wooden walkways to fix the trail, but everything has washed out. I did enjoy myself, just wanted to give the heads up to all about the poor conditions of the trail itself.