Hike to Gray’s Lake, Montezuma, Colorado
My dad was in town and while we did a lot of fishing, we did manage to sneak in a hike one day. We decided to check out Gray’s Lake in Montezuma. We couldn’t have timed the wildflowers being in full bloom more perfectly. We parked at the trailhead at the end of Peru Creek Road in Montezuma. There was one other car in the parking lot. The trail starts up a dirt road, which is actually the road to get to an active mine. I didn’t even realize there was still an active mine up there. I’m not sure what they were mining for, but we did run into a very large dirt truck that we weren’t expecting on this dirt road.
As we ascended, the number of wildflowers increased and were full of color. As you can see in my pictures, there were millions of them in every direction. After just over two miles, we made it to the lake. As the name would suggest, this lake is at the base of the popular 14er, Gray’s Peak. However, because we parked at the trailhead in Montezuma instead of at the popular one in Bakerville, we had the whole lake to ourselves. After a quick snack and some photos, we turned around and headed back the way we came. It was a great way to spend the final day of my dad’s visit.
Stats: 4.6 miles, 1200 vert.
