I'll be traveling from the rolling hills of Pennsylvania to Colorado (Denver) this weekend to do some hiking with a buddy who transplanted there a couple of years ago.

Plan is to hike a few days in the Lost Creek Wilderness.

Anyone have experience hiking there? Trail reports don't seem abundant for this area. What is a must see? Anyone fly-fish the creeks there?


Alternatively, is there somewhere else we should be going near to Denver instead?

Indian Peaks area was considered and ruled out due to ranger station reporting lingering snow pack.


Thanks.

Can't help you with Lost Creek area, never played there.  Most of the creeks are running high, even a lot of tailwaters, so the fishing may not be that great.  

Indian Peaks has some great creeks, and even greater lakes to fly fish, but they will still be high this weekend.

If you've never been, Rocky Mountain National Park is worth the drive.  Plenty of hiking as well.

Safe travels out west.  I lived all over PA for many years, beautiful state.

the best writeup I've seen about Lost Creek was by an ultra-runner

let me see if I can find it

eta: http://coloradoadventureblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/lost-creek-wilderness-wigwam-goose.html

I live near there. Closer to James peak.

Things are melting fast. Southern areas will be better for fishing, South Boulder Creek is raging right now.


I did get a chance to drive up Rollins pass and into Mammoth Gulch on Saturday.


You could get very close to Yankee Doodle lake driving.(Rollins pass). Good tires and a little bit of clearance are needed.


The gate is closed to James/Kingston peak but you could hike past there and have the area pretty much to yourself. More clearance for that drive(SUV or brave in a Subaru)


Feel free to IM me with questions about my AO. I'm in Rollinsville.

Thanks for the insight, all. I will check out the other areas.

Thanks for the link to the trail report on the LCWA; very insightful considering that is a similar route we were planning on.

I've climbed back there once about 14 yrs. ago.  From what I remember, the main trail was nice and fairly level.  Nice area.  I know - not much help.

You can fly fish there but Lost Creek is dominated by overpopulating brook trout - so lots of small ones.  They will bite anything however.

4x4 high clearance needed for all those?

is the Moffatt Tunnel open? can you drive back and forth between Rollinsville and Winter Park?

what is your weather like now?

I ended up sticking to the plan. We took the Wigwam trail into wigwam park and set up camp. I did some fishing in the beaver ponds, and managed some brookies on the flyrod. It felt good, as I am a hopeless newbie with a fly rod, and was using loaned gear on the trip. From there we hit the Goose Creek trail up and over into the valley of the Goose/Lost Creek. The granite rock formations are definitely a neat sight.

The creek itself was running high and fast (pretty much all the water in the area was up very high), so fishing the moving water was not possible and the 9 creek crossings had some challenges on Sunday after a thunderstorm hit us while hiking out.


The reality is that the LCWA has none of the appeal of the high Rockies; but it was a beautiful place for a more relaxing weekend in the woods than a 30-miler up and over the peaks. At least I satisfied my lust for epic views with the requisite drive through the RMNP and Indian Peaks area.

Not needed for all those roads.

 

Kingston past the gate has some stuff that will need 4wd+clearance. They open the gate next week I believe.


Also, there is some tough trails off the main paths I mentioned.


Moffet tunnel is actually the train tunnel. You're thinking of Needle Eye. It's closed.


There is a way over to Winter Park, but I only know of people doing it on bikes. It's a goat path over the top.


Weather is great. Actually been raining the last few days.


But 70-80 in the day.


Low 50's at night. Beautiful this time of year up here.

I've spent the past 4 days and nights hiking and camping in the rain around Estes Park, RMNP and Winter Park, but tonight I've moved on to Leadville... Independence Pass tomorrow and then Maroon Bells

Nice

 

finished up with Aspen, Woody Creek, Basalt and then back to Denver for Rush R40 live on Saturday night in the Pepsi Center arena

Sounds like a great trip

 

it definitely was, although I drank way too much free booze in the arena suite