Best Trails near Clark, Colorado

Did a 10 mi. loop that included other lakes. Wild flowers in late July & spectacular views of other peaks could not be better.

My experience was very much like the review of Anna Borg.

I hiked the trail on October 30, 2018. Didn't see anyone else out on the trail.

Incredible scenery and a great payoff at the end. The lower part of the trail was a little wet and muddy in a few spots, and the last mile or so was covered in snow and ice, but easily passable.

Did this trail today, 10/27/18, from the slavonia trailhead and loved it! The scenery takes you through tons of aspens (which are still gorgeous bare, but the leaves are gone now), rocky landscapes, lots of river crossings, and WOW that scenery! The last mile up/down to the lake from the largest river crossing is currently icy snow pack mixed with some rocky/muddy terrain, which made our trip take a bit longer and took more energy. Clocked 9.28 miles and 2000+ elevation gain as a heads up as well.

Hiked Hahn’s peak on Oct 8th. Lower trail clear. Upper trail 2-3inches snow. Making climb to top pretty easy. Conditions good. No view due to visibility. We liked the hike and look forward to doing it in the summer!

Pretty view of the canyon and the aspens. Beautiful colors. Starts off a little steep but the rear of the trail is not bad at all. Decent amount of shade. Went early and trail was pretty empty, but by 11 passed more and more hiking in. Went passed the barn and hike a trail behind up towards the hills behind it and back to the barn before heading out. About another mile around the barn. Total of 5.3 miles there and back.

Tough but soooooo worth it!!!

Great trail minus the horse poo... Lots of elk hunters out currently. Only saw 2 deer on the trail. Lake is gorgeous. Hike the entire loop if possible. I believe the AllTrails mileage is off though. Our gps tracker said 5 miles to the lake from the Gilpin trail.

We went clockwise and was good as the other way would have been much longer in the ascent. Loved this hike but my IPhone clocked 13 miles. It was gorgeous but a few more miles than I expected. Perfect time to hike it. I will go back and probably camp halfway next time. ❤️

We hiked that trail today 9/13 it was an amazing hike, we went counterclockwise and did the entire Loop. Unfortunately we lost a Micro SD card on the trail - it is in a plastic case- if anybody finds it please message me. or call Brian 847-702-9240. Thank you

hiked on Labor Day 9/3/18 with my 16 year old son. Got a later start, arrived at trailhead at 9am. VERY crowded parking wise. But trail was not too crowded. Saw a few groups, all courteous and enjoying the hike. No tough creek crossings. No significant wildlife sightings on this day; however, my wife and I had hiked the Gilpin Lake trail two weeks before and ran into a bear about 45 minutes up from the trailhead. The bear was only about 10 yards from the trail.....never once looked up from his feeding frenzy on the vegetation. Lots of dogs as part of the groups, only about half were leashed, none were trouble. The hike is AWESOME. So glad we went counterclockwise, sure seems to be the easier way to get to the "saddle" south of Gilpin Lake. A GREAT hike, nice day, just a few sprinkles.

The leaves are starting to turn on the way up. The water color of the lake is as blue as Maroon Bells! Beautiful turquoise! Chilly water temp. Will do the full circle next time.

Very nice hike
Beautiful views
The lake is also beautiful
The way in is a steady gradual climb with only a few switchbacks
The first half is shady
Would be a nice trail run for advanced runners

Hiked it today we went counter clockwise. The views when you crest the ridge to see the lake are amazing. I clocked it at 11.6 Miles. I definitely recommend the counter clockwise to enjoy the views of the lakes on your decent. Will do this hike again next time in town.

Holy cow - this has to be the most gorgeous hike I've done yet in Colorado. It has everything you could ever want in terms of scenery: waterfalls, aspen groves, high alpine lakes, and endless mountain meadows. Counter clockwise is definitely the way to go as others have mentioned, as the incline is a bit more gradual, and the descent to Gilpin lake is absolutely breathtaking. We did this hike over Labor Day weekend - the aspens aren't quite yet turning, but there's plenty of beautiful fall colors on the forest floor to be enjoyed. We took a ton of breaks for lunch, snacks, and pictures, and clocked in at 6.5 hours. Cannot recommend this highly enough!

My boyfriend and I were originally planning on hiking Mad Creek Trail yesterday, but realized that we had already hiked that several years ago. We decided to hike something different so continued to drive towards Steamboat Lake. We ended up finding Slavonia Trailhead, and decided that would hike a few hours and then turn around thinking that Gilpin Lake was actually 6 miles one way. Fortunately, another hiker told us that Gilpin Lake was only 4 miles one way, so we charged on. It was well worth it. Crystal clear lake and not too many people at the actual lake. We were sluggish that day, but it took us 4 hours round trip. Not too mention, the best part was that we saw a bear and her cub driving back from the trail towards Steamboat. :)

Prime time right now. Just go, you won't regret it. Spectacular views once you get about 2-3 miles in heading toward Gilpin Lake via Clockwise hike. Did one night, would have loved to have done 2. So much to explore and do including jumping into the lake!

Beautiful hike! This trail has a little bit of everything (streams, animals, lakes, mountains) and the fall colors are amazing right now. I can only imagine what it looked like with all the wildflowers.

I accidentally went clockwise (left at the dorm) and I enjoyed the trail. The first half up to the lake was gradual and I walked around for a bit before proceeding up the switchbacks. The hike up wasn’t that bad because my legs were warmed up. The view of the lake from up top was amazing. The rest of the hike was downhill. Overall the hike wasn’t hard. It’s a long hike so I think that makes the elevation gain easier. I started at 6 and the trailhead was packed when I came down.

Instead of doing this trail as an out and back we hiked beyond the barn to the right and crossed over the bridge and hiked back on the forest service access road (it’s more like a wide trail). We then were able to access the Strawberry Hot Spring trail and do that as an out and back and then hike (.3mi) back to the Mad Creek trail head. Total distance was just over 10 mi. Bring $20 per adult and swim suit if you want to swim in hot springs. There are nice restrooms and cold drinks at the attendant station.

Eh

Incredible views that are definitely earned! Counterclockwise is the way to go as many others have suggested. Clocked it at 12.2 miles total.

Great trail. Not terribly difficult. Water for dogs. Incredible scenery.

Spectacular!

This hike was not strenuous but it was fun and it did get my heart going when I kicked up the pace. I have to admit- it’s hard to keep pace with the endless beauty this hike brings. I was mesmerized by the wildflowers, trees, mountains, and wildlife all around. The lake at the top was peaceful and I saw a moose and all sorts of smaller creatures all along the way. It took me about 5 hours up and back- but I stopped many times to take it in and get photos. I highly suggest going in the afternoon- there is more wildlife and less people! Enjoy!

Great hike for all, and especially for doggies, as the distance is moderate and there is plenty of water along the way! Our Apple watches had the distance closer to 6.2 miles RT.

Great hike. Agree that this is a moderate hike. Beautiful trail with one good and several minor falls along Gold Creek. Caught 25 brookies on second trip with dry flies. Parachute Adams worked well.

Trail is 3.6 miles round trip, not one way, so half as long and twice as steep as expected. If you can drive to the first, small parking area you can make it to the second, larger one just beyond. The sign is a little ambiguous; see pic. Nice hike, pretty views. I recommend a trekking pole and no children in backpacks, due to steepness.

This is two hikes in one. You start traversing above the glacial valley of the Middle Fork of the Elk through aspens on a smooth dirt trail. Halfway through, you make an abrupt turn into a hanging valley. The trail becomes much rockier and steeper as you switchback through a profusion of granitic dikes. The Aspens give way to subalpine firs. Three Islands Creek cuts through the adjacent granite. After a nasty hour, you arrive at one of the most beautiful and pristine lakes in the state. This is not a long hike, but a steep one and the road to the trail head features all the washboard you could want, but we traverse the state in Prius, so if we make it you can. Don't go. I want it for myself.

Really beautiful hike with some amazing views! Some shade but a lot of sunny parts as well. I also nearly stepped on a small garden snake on the trail, so beware!

Awesome hike! Beautiful the whole way! Not a “difficult” hike—more like a moderate— and the uphills had some nice flattish spots thrown in to give you a break. Wished we could have stayed longer to explore. Would definitely do it again!