Intermediate Snowshoe – Blue Lake TH - Sawmill Creek Trail

Meeting time and place will be sent to all participants 1 week before the start of the trip.  The location will be in Fort Collins.

This will be an out-n-back snowshoe hike. The Sawmill Creek trail is accessed by parking at the Blue Lake Trailhead and walking south (uphill) on Highway 14 about 300 yards. This trail system provides access to the scenic Sawmill Basin and eastern approaches to Chickadee, Grosbeak and Junco Peaks. This trail is (lightly) used for nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and backcountry skiing. We will follow the trail which is an old road until we reach an intersection where we will go to the right and continue to wind up the road crossing over Sawmill Creek where we will have great views of the peaks around the Sawmill Basin. Parts of this area did burn in the Cameron Peak fire so we will be in and out of the burn area. We will monitor the avalanche risk as we approach the final mile of the trail. We will look to stop where the road ends and find a nice spot for snacks/lunch before returning back to the trailhead using the same route. Our pace will be comfortable for all group members. Overall this hike is ~6 miles and ~1,100 ft elevation gain.