Hiking Lower Cataract Lake - See the falls?
8/21/2022: This is a nice, easy, trail, especially if you want to acclimate to the elevation when you get here. The lake is very pretty, and the views are nice. There is a beautiful waterfall that, in theory, one can reach, but we couldn’t find the trail to it, so had to view it from afar. This is a great hike for kids. There are several other trailheads and hiking opportunities nearby.
This is the first hike on 8/21. The second was Meadow Loop and Ridge Trail.
Key: Kid Friendly | Waterfalls | Lake | Aspen Forest | Forest | Wildflowers | Gravel Road | Colorado | US Forest Service | Eagles Nest Wilderness
Marg’s Notes: Drove to the Cataract Loop Trail and started hiking ~10:00. Temp. was 52° but didn’t really feel too cold. We had a nice 2.7 mile hike around Lower Cataract Lake. Not too crowded. There was a waterfall above the end of the lake opposite our starting point, but we never saw a trail to it. We both felt the altitude! We got back to the car & drove to Dillon, CO. started the Meadow Ridge trail along a peninsula in Dillon Lake. Not a super exciting trail but went 3.75 miles. Started at 12:40 & finished ~2:00. On the way back, we stopped at Walmart and then went to Outer Range Brewing. Supposedly owned by some Williams people. Very busy there! We bought some 4 packs & came back for a rest. After our rest, we explored the Resort until Jim & Pam arrived. We led them to the city parking lot then came back for dinner. We heard some thunder & got rained on at Cataract Lake.
Lasagna, bread, salad
Lower Cataract Lake
Rod’s Ramblings from the
Trail: An easy loop trail we're starting at 10:00. There's a beautiful
waterfall up here and I hope we go to it. This is to get acclimated. The drive-in was easy although the last
3 miles or so was on dirt road gravel but no problems with our little CRV. We are going clockwise on the
loop. It is August 21st and there are still some wildflowers out. If you're lucky you can camp at the
cataract campground but they're only like six campsites. It's about 54° or so and it is doesn't really
feel bad. It is cloudy. Although there were perhaps 10 cars at the trailhead, we have yet to see anyone, and
it is wonderfully quiet back here. I said it, yes, what a pleasant hike. Being a lowlander from
Portland, hiking here at about 9, 000 ft elevation, I am breathing a little bit hard even though it is a
very easy hike. Which says make sure you acclimate and take it easy when you first get here if you are a
lowlander like us. We did not see the waterfalls up close. We ran into someone that said that there was a
trail that went up to the waterfalls, but we sure could not see it. He also said there is an upper cataract lake and
you can get to the falls from there. This was a good hike. It took us one and a half hours and we went about
2.6 mi. I would do it again with friends.
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