Indian Peaks - Betty & Bob Lake / King Lake Trial Hiking & Backpacking

See the photo album of this trip here.

My wife and I managed to corral our two boys for the weekend and we headed for Nederland and on to the Indian Peaks Wilderness area. We hit the Hesse Trail head at about 11:00 a.m on Saturday and began our long, very uphill journey to Betty and Bob Lakes.  Here are the vital details.

Heads Up:You need a permit to camp in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. You can get a permit at the Boulder Ranger Station or the Ace Hardware in Nederland. Ace Hardware is on the west side of the road behind the bank, as you enter Nederland.

Location:This is an easy trail head to get to and only an hour from Denver. Take Hwy 6 to the west side of Golden and go north on Hwy 93. Eight miles or so up the road, take Hwy 72 west to Nederland. You are also heading toward the Eldora Ski Area, so look for those signs. Just before you enter Nederland there is an unmarked road to the west. There is a sign for Eldora that shows the way and this turn is directly across from a Mexican restaurant.

To avoid the only mistake you can make on this road, stay right and do not go up to Eldora ski area. Instead, you will head toward and through the little mountain town of Eldora. Continue on to where the paved road turns to a well maintained gravel road. This will take you to the well marked and possibly crowded area for parking (mostly along the road) near the Hesse Trail head. See trip details for more information on this.  

Map:

This is a map showing the Nederland area and the greater Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. I have highlighted the turn coming from the south just before town.

 

 

This detailed Topo map shows the King Lake Trail to the Betty and Bob Lake Lake spur. Also, at Betty Lake I have marked two good areas for camping. I would recommend the area furthest up the trail.

I was unable to include the very beginning of the trail, but it is the Hesse Trail head. You will find many other hikers here as it is a popular dog walking / day hiking area. However, once you get 1 1/2 miles in and branch off on the King Lake Trail, you will see few other hikers.

 

Fishing Report:

Betty Lake holds some beautiful Cutthroat trout (check local regulations regarding cutthroat). We caught them on parachute adams, a mosquito, a prince nymph, some sort of sparkle tail caddis pattern, and a dark emerger pattern. The biggest fish we caught was less than 12 inches and we may have seen a 14 inch fish. Regardless of the size, these were beautiful trout....and they tasted good, too!

We did not fish Bob Lake, but we did get a report that it was not yielding any fish. I have heard that it normally fishes pretty well with fish about the same size as Betty Lake. Skyscraper Lake, which would be another trip, is supposed to have larger cutthroat.

Trail Report:Get ready for some up! Hesse Trail head is marked at 9000 feet and Betty Lake is right about 11,400 feet. Add a 40 pound pack to the mix, and this 6 mile hike is a bugger. The trail is very well maintained and much of it is nicely forested. Water is available regularly if you carry a purifier. The payoff on this trip is an incredible basin including three named lakes and three other unnamed bodies of water. This area is well worth the work it takes to get into. And as a great side trip, go back to the King Lake Trail and up to the top of the ridge. The view from this ridge down into the Frasier Valley, is spectacular. For the even more adventurous, follow the Corona Trail north along the Continental Divide to Devils Thumb Lake. Enjoy!

Trip Details: You will need a 4wd to actually drive to the Hesse Trail head. However, there is plenty of parking along the road and there is a well maintained hiking trail just to the north of the 4wd trail.

Don't forget these lakes are at 11,400 feet. That mean cool nights and late ice out. I visited this area on July 26-27, 2008. Just a couple of weeks ealier there may have been two much ice to fish these lakes.

Skyscrapper Lake is reachable by bushwacking. The best route is probably west toward Bob Lake along the north side of Betty Lake and then just before Bob, drop over the ridge to the north.

The Ace Hardware store in Nederland opens at 8 a.m. and does a really nice job with camping permits. They also sell area specific maps and other essentials.

Comments

[Save the Cutts]

The Greenback Cutthroat is a protected species in Colorado and is subject to catch and release regulations. Please do your part in the future to help the recovery of our state fish...don't eat them!

Great photos and trip reports otherwise.

[Will Marquardt]

Dear Save the Cutts,

Thanks for your comment.

I'm pretty sure that you did not mean to insinuate that my taking of the cutthroat trout was illegal. In case you did mean that, you are wrong.

Cutthroat trout, and all of our God given natural resources, should be jealously protected for future generations. There are areas where cutthroat should not be taken and where they are not legal to harvest. As a general rule, high mountain lakes do not fit into this classification.

I am a regular fly fisherman and have never, never kept a trout of any kind out of any river in the state of Colorado. On occasion when my wife and I backpack, we keep 1 or 2 small cuts or brookies for dinner caught in high mountain lakes. We praise God for the privilege of eating these fish and we know that we are not negatively impacting the resource.

Generally speaking, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm with you. Catch and release is the way to go.

Will Marquardt

[sourceoutdoor]

The view seen in your pictures is amazing. Thanks for the detailed description of ways to get to the start point. It is important to note that one should also needs to come with appropriate equipment-warm clothes, good sleeping bag etc.

[matt]

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