Lake Creek Trails Edwards CO

Lake Creek is a very special place to me, it was my home for nine months and so I will share with you one of my favorite hidden gems.

Near Edwards Colorado is Lake Creek Road, it's perfect for raspberry hunting, mushroom hunting, wildflower viewing and peaceful solitude.

Each afternoon after work I head to either East of West Lake Creek Trail.

East Lake Creek Trail is great if you need a kick-ass run. The beginning of the trail head is a steep incline and is highly shaded making for a good workout. It is also great for four wheeling because the trail is wide and packed down.

West Lake Creek though I like better for hiking. To get there you pass East Lake Creek Trail head and end up at the end of the road by a parking lot. I take my dogs with me and they love the small trails and endless smells. This trail is heavily vegetated and has a steep terrain, perfect for bears so I always hike with a knife, whistle, and bear spray. On my hikes I rarely run in to people which is nice because the trail seems untouched and natural. The trail consists of lots of inclines and declines with some loose gravel for make sure your shoes have the right support.

The highlights of the Lake Creek is all the flowers and endless raspberries. Colorado's State Flower is the Columbine and it grows in groves here in the shaded beauty of Lake Creek. The raspberries in late summer are absolutely delicious and when they are in peak season you can eat them off the branches. If you have never tasted a natural raspberry you have never lived. Be aware peak raspberry season is peak bear season. Raspberries are not worth fighting a bear over.

If you continue to hike Lake Creek you can branch off and hike Dead Dog trail, I refuse to hike that with my dogs... clearly.

Continue about three miles in to Lake Creek and you reach Holy Cross Wilderness where you can camp and continue to backpack through.

This is usually the point I head back because it seems to the perfect timing.

I recommend hiking this trail all summer to view the different seasons of wildflowers, as well as late summer for the raspberries. The fall is also a beautiful time visit Lake Creek because Aspen trees grow all along the hike and turn a vibrant gold in the fall.