Harvard Lakes Trail

Maybe I’ve become spoiled with the amount of beautiful hikes I’ve done since moving to CO, but I was very unimpressed by this one. It’s very crowded and basically just a rocky steep incline, that leads to two small lakes, neither of which are that great. The bigger of the two is just a brown lake surrounded by trees with a bunch of fallen trees inside of it. The smaller lake has a tiny view of mountains behind it. The best part of the hike is once you get past the major incline and follow along the river, this part was very pretty and why I gave it 3 stars.

Beware of fork. When you get there go left towards the 3 Elk trail. If you miss that take a left whenever you see the next fork. If you don’t you will end up taking the longer hike twice the distance and more difficult. Overall the trail was pretty difficult and steep. Beautiful lakes and scenery once you get to the top.

Beautiful trail! Dog-friendly! Pretty steep rocky incline, but overall it was a moderate hike. The lakes are gorgeous! I was able to catch a couple trout in the lower lake. Very pretty cutthroat, brookie, and rainbows!

Great day hike. The trail has a good combination of steep rocky sections and flat areas. Well worth the trip to the top!

Started hiking the trail at about 11 20 AM.  The first leg of the hike is through a logging road surrounded by beautiful redwood pines.  Follow this road for about a mile, and then veer left onto 3 elk trail.  A short way onto this trail, you will cross a river.  After the river, the trail becomes significantly steeper as you begin to gain elevation quickly.  You will eventually comes to a crossroads with a sign that says Colorado trail.  Take a left here and follow it to the upper lake (the better one in my opinion), and then continue on a bit further to reach the lower lake. We stopped and had a snack at the higher lake.  It had plentiful trout that you can see through the very clear water.  There is also a wonderful mountain view and a cool avalanche gulch. The pictures attached are the view from the upper lake.  Took my girlfriend and I about 65 minutes to reach the upper lake.   We are in shape but definitely not avid climbers/hikers.

Beautiful day out with my wife, daughter and son. I second guessed myself a couple times getting to the trailhead but we found it. It’s not exactly marked. Besides that it was a great hike. Definitely challenging in some of the uphill rockier sections but well worth it. Completely free of any snow and both lakes are wide open. Saw a bunch of small brook trout swimming and rising - amazing to watch them work in such clear water.

Definitely more on the difficult end of “moderate.” Nearly straight up for the 3 mi to the lakes. Very rocky in a few areas that make going up and going down difficult. Great rewarding hike after you get to the top and enjoy the lakes (they’re kind of more like big ponds but they’re still pretty). Very good workout! NOTE: the sign to 3 Elks Trail is easy to miss if you’re not paying close attention. My group and a few others missed it and continued on the county road where it was significantly steeper and harder for about .5 mi before realizing we should have turned earlier. 3 Elks Trail is a little over 1 mi up on the county road, which is where most people start. Someone said in the reviews prior it’s .25 mi up....it’s not!

Decent trail with plenty of elevation gain to get your heart rate up. Several long stretches of steep trail with loose rock. Lakes were clear and we saw plenty of fish and a snake. Other than the lakes not much to see. Keep in mind "moderate" is relative in Colorado :)

Awesome trip up today. Got an early start with a dusting of snow left on the ground. Creek was running so high and icicles everywhere. Absolutely gorgeous!

6/23/19 Took us about 4 hours round trip *because* we didn’t take the fork labeled “elk trail” about a quarter mile up the trail. We took the other fork and it led us up County Road 368 until we met the Colorado Trail and looped back onto the trail that led to the lakes. Didn’t realize we should take elk trail so definitely do that if you don’t want to climb almost 2,000 feet in elevation! Don’t get me wrong, it was a good workout and a nice hike, but not really what I was in for today. Lakes were so clear though

Group of 4 hiked and camped Saturday night. No snow on the trail, and we had on and off light rain on the way up. Two patches of snow up by the lakes remaining. It was too windy and starting to snow at the lakes, so we camped at a nice campsite a little ways back down. Saw 4 other groups in total camping. Beautiful hike and experience despite the inclement weather! Hike portion, up and back, took about 2.5 hours total including several stops to swap gear on the way up as the weather was varying.

Got a later start than intended (after 10AM) but made it to the upper lake in a little less than 80 minutes. There were two of us with above average fitness levels. Could hear thunder along the way but never had any threatening weather until we got back to the car around 12:30 when the skies opened up. Very minimal to trace amounts of snow left.

nice moderate hike! we did it with a puppy for her first hike and she loved it. trail was clear and dry except for a couple tiny patches of snow near the lakes.

Definitely a moderate hike, especially for those with less experience and are slightly out of shape. Most of the first half is not too rocky, however once you cross the creek the trail is very rocky. When it is steep the rocks made the hike more difficult. This also affects the trip back down. The creek is running high from the snow melt, and you will encounter some snow still on the trail (6-16-19). The lakes are beautiful and a great place to have your lunch. If you are willing to pack your fishing gear you might catch a few fish. Saw a lot of dogs on the trail as well.

Steady incline. Best part was hiking along the creek. Not much scenery overlooking.

Hiked here this morning (6/1). Intermittent snow for about the last mile. Be prepared to get some snow in your boots, but no special gear required. View of the lakes was well worth the little bit of post holing.

5/26 as stated previously there is snow about half way up but we could still make it to the lakes without any special gear. Snow is pretty packed in, some spots that you might fall through but otherwise fine. Lakes were nice and views were beautiful. Finding the trail and parking were easy. Moderately traffic today.

We set out a little late yesterday morning and made it to the trail head around 1:00 PM. Rocky from the road for about 1 mile or so, then smooth and pretty, then very rocky and steep. Never made it to the summit as we ran into snow. I would recommend this if you want a view and beauty at the top. The way up was more challenging. No views on way up. I would do it again though later in the summer.

Good moderate trail. Round trip was roughly 4 miles. Hiked on 5/25/19 and the last mile is pretty full of snow, however manageable.

Hiked 5/25. Started around 7:30. There's a dirt parking lot a bit past the turn on the County road, and we walked to the trailhead from there. Great trail, not muddy. Turned to snow halfway up, but the path was packed down well. Postholed now and then but not enough to be annoying. Traction devices were useful for sometimes icy snow. Lakes were beautiful and not frozen! Would suggest going as early as possible to avoid soft snow.

We did this trail 2 days ago and it was covered in snow. However on the way down it was beginning to melt a little and turn to slush with the other foot traffic on the trail. It was a bit hard to find the trail in places due to the snow and reach the top but I managed in trail running shoes. Turn around and take in the views on the way to the top. They are beautiful. The top view was gorgeous and well worth the trek to the top in sometimes hip deep snow, however you could only see a small portion of the lake due to the snow and appeared to be iced over in some places. This was a FANTASTIC trail for my first time hiking in Colorado!

A beautiful hike but definitely still very snowy. Very slushy and muddy in the beginning and a bit difficult to keep balance. Towards the end the trail was hard to find and the snow was nearly up to our hips but nonetheless a beautiful winter hike. The lake at the end was stunning and probably really nice in summer (we went in early May). Would do again!