Lamphier Lake Colorado Hike Guide
Lamphier Lake is a hidden gem located in Pitkin Colorado within the Fossil Ridge Wilderness. This 6 mile out and back hike takes you up to a beautiful high alpine lake which is a great spot to camp, fish or just have a picnic. For the more adventurous, this lake is also a great spot to take a refreshing dip during the hot summer months. Lamphier Lake is family friendly and dog friendly as well.
Lamphier Lake Quick Facts
Lamphier Lake Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)
Distance: 6 Miles RT (Little shorter if you don’t add on Lower Lamphier Lake)
Elevation Start: 10,062ft
High Point: 11,704ft
Total Elevation Gain: 1,728ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 4-5 Hours RT
Difficulty: Moderate What does this mean?
Class: Class 1- What does this mean?
Season: June – October (Expect road closure and no TH access outside of this period)
Directions to Lamphier Lake
Trailhead: Lamphier Lake
Getting Here: From US50 and the small town of Parlin, take Co Rd 76 for 8.5 miles until you reach another small town of Ohio City. Take a left on CO Rd 771 and follow this for 6.7 miles. It does turn into a rougher dirt road eventually, but you should have no problem with most passenger vehicles. After reaching Gold Creek campground, you will see a small parking area on the left. You could park here, but it’s best to just continue on over a wooden bridge to find the better parking area on the left.
Parking: There are two main parking areas for Lamphier Lake like I mentioned above. The first one is a little rougher so I would recommend continuing on to the second area. Neither have restrooms.
Fee: None
Summary
Dogs: This hike is dog friendly but since its in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness, please keep all dogs on a leash. This hike does have decent tree coverage, but can get quite hot so brings lots of water for you and the pup.
Camping: The best spot to camp on this hike would be at Gold Creek Campground (first come, first serve) or up at Lamphier Lake itself. If you are camping at the lake, please be sure to always follow Wilderness camping regulations.
Hike Tip(s): If you enjoy fishing, I would highly recommend bringing up a rod to fish in Lamphier Lake. We spotted a number of trout swimming around the shoreline during our short stay at the lake.
Best Views: The best views on this hike are at Lamphier Lake itself. If you want some other lake views, check out the small detour to Lower Lamphier Lake. There is a social trail about 1 mile before the upper lake to check this out. I was hoping to get up to Gunsight Pass to check out even better views of the lake, but my legs did not have it in them that day but could be worthwhile.
Lamphier Lake Hike Route
Gear Needed
- Men’s Trail Runners
- Women’s Trail Runners
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Women’s)
- Backpack (Winter)
- Backpack (Summer)
- Food & Water
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Hiking Poles – 120CM
- Optional: Headlamp
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod, GoPro 360
- Optional: Drone
- *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.
Our Trip to Lamphier Lake: September 2022
On our way home from a fun weekend in Gunnison and Crested Butte, Jackie and I were looking for one more hike to round out the trip. Jackie found Lamphier Lake and although I was a little skeptical at first (I always tend to not want to do lake hikes), we decided to give it a go. Aria joined us and we hit the trailhead around 11AM for a leisurely start. I even brought a bottle of Casey beer to enjoy at the lake – we were really living it up!
After parking down the road at the wrong spot which is meant for nearby Mill Lake, we quickly found the right trail and started hiking up. The trail was very steep and this really did not change the entire way. It was a very hot day, but the tree coverage did help cool things down a bit. The hiking was extremely straightforward, just hard on our tired legs from previous hiking.
On the way up, about a mile from the top, I checked out Lower Lamphier Lake which was a cool spot but not necessarily a worthy side trip. However, given the small distance (about 300 yards) to add this one on, why not? When we arrived at Lamphier Lake, it was absolutely stunning. I was so hot, I decided to strip down to my shorts and take a quick dip. The water was FREEZING but refreshing and after laying out in the sun for about 10 minutes, I was dry again.
We enjoyed our beer and watched the trout swim around their beautiful alpine home. Trying to avoid traffic on the way home, we soaked in the beautiful views for a while before heading back to the car. Overall, we both really liked this hike and were surprised by the beauty of the area which neither Jackie or myself had explored before. I will be back to the Fossil Ridge Wilderness to do some more hiking in the future!
