White River National Forest · Colorado

Chihuahua Lake Trail

1.3 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 78 · trail class 2 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 39.6243, -105.8380 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Chihuahua Lake TH #78 the Forest Service's write-up

Starting from Peru Creek Road, the Chihuahua Gulch Road continually climbs upward until it crosses a stream, where it levels off and then passes several beaver ponds and beautiful meadows. The road continues for approximately 2 miles until you come to the end at a buck and rail fence. NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT!

Continue on the trail for 1.4 miles until you reach the lake which is nestled against the headwall of the valley just below the Continental Divide. You will have views of many high alpine peaks including Grizzly, Grays and Torreys.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in White River National Forest

All 729 trails in White River National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.