Trail heads to summit of 14er Longs Peak

Longs Peak from the north.

East Long Peaks Trail. Courtesy of NPS.

While certainly no day hike, you can walk to the summit of Longs Peak, the highest point on Rocky Mountain National Park. Around 15,000 mountaineers try it each year.

At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is one of Colorado's most visibly prominent fourteeners – a mountain more than 14,000 feet high – on the Front Range. Longs Peak is the northernmost of Colorado's famed Fourteeners.

To reach that trailhead, from Allenspark drive north on County Road 7. Turn left/west onto Longs Peak Road. Upon entering the park and just before the campground curve left/south. The trailhead is past the ranger station at the end of the road.

The East Long Peaks Trail runs 13.6 miles one-way. You start at an elevation of 9418 feet and will gain 4786 feet. It’s a well-marked trail.

The trail initially parallels Alpine Brook then later crosses it as well as Larkspur Creek and Boulder Brook. A spur leads to Chasm Lake. Ultimately, the trail ends just past an area known as Boulderfield, where there is a campground.

Major Stephen Long first explored this region of Colorado for the United States in 1820. His expedition didn't enter the mountains, but he recorded sighting the park's highest point - Longs Peak - which was named for him. Explorer John Wesley Powell made the first recoded ascent of Longs Peak in 1868.

Due to the high altitude, you definitely need to be physically fit and spend a couple of weeks acclimating your body before attempting this adventure.

Since air pressure is lower at higher elevations, you will inhale less oxygen in mountainous areas. For most hikers, the problem begins when reaching 8,000 feet above sea level, in which acute mountain sickness can affect you.

More serious and deadlier problems can occur at higher than 12,000 feet, and parents shouldn’t take their children above that level. Children will suffer from altitude sickness more readily than adults. As their bodies are still developing, they simply don’t have the ability to adjust as quickly to changes in oxygen levels as do adults.

To avoid altitude sickness, go at a slow pace that allows time for your body to adjust to the changes. Limit altitude changes to no more than 2000-3000 feet so long as you’re returning to your starting point.

Signs of altitude sickness include shortness of breath, dehydration, headache, nausea and dizziness. If you become confused, clumsy, vomit and have a dry cough, the condition is serious. Treating altitude sickness requires descending to a lower elevation where there’s more oxygen. In addition, drink extra water to avoid dehydration, and eat light, high-carbohydrate meals. If the condition is serious, get medical attention immediately.

A route at a lower altitude with great views of Longs Peak is the Bluebird Lake Trail, which runs south of the Fourteener.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

Trail offers fantastic views of Longs Peak

Lower Copeland Falls. Courtesy Rocky Mountain NPS.

Map, Bluebird Lake Trail, Courtesy Rocky Mountain NPS.

Waterfalls, alpine lake await in Rocky Mountain National Park's Wild Basin  

At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is one of Colorado's most visibly prominent Fourteeners, a mountain more than 14,000 feet high. Among the best views of it can be had on the Bluebird Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park's Wild Basin.

The trail is not for the timid or physically unfit. This 12.6-miles round trip includes an elevation gain of 2,478 feet.

Your effort will be worth it, though. Along the hike, you'll pass four waterfalls, a cascades, an alpine lake, and be treated to spectacular scenery.

The trail sits in the park’s southeast corner. To reach the trailhead, from Allenspark village, take Colo. Hwy. 7 north. Turn left/west onto County Road 84, following it north to the Wild Basin Lodge. Go left/northwest onto County Road 115 (note that the last stretch is a narrow, gravel road), parking in the lot of the Wild Basin Summer Trailhead.

Take the trail southwest into the pine forest. You're at 8500 feet, which already is extremely high, so stay alert for altitude sickness.

At 0.3 miles from the trailhead, you can take a short spur to Lower Copeland Falls on North Saint Vrain Creek. It’s only about 5-feet high but a pleasant spot to take a break. About 0.1 miles later is Upper Copeland Falls.

Calypso Cascades
Next the trail crosses Sandbeach Creek and parallels North Saint Vrain Creek.

At 1.4 miles from the trailhead is Pine Ridge Campground. There the trail splits; go left/southwest. The trail crosses the creek once (If you pass the Tahosa Campground, you’ve taken the wrong trail.).

You’ll arrive at an unnamed cascades/waterfall with a 15-foot drop in 0.2 miles. Sometimes this is confused with Calypso Cascades. That’s coming up, though.

About 2.2 miles from the trailhead, you’ll reach the next trail junction. Go right/west. In short order, you’ll cross Cony Creek.

The 100-foot Calypso Cascades are downstream. The best time to see them is early summer, as by September waterflow can be a bit sparse. At the cascades, you’ll also get excellent views of Longs Peak – the highest in the national park – and Mount Meeker, both of which are to the north. The two peaks are referred to as the Twin Guides.

Ouzel Falls
Next the trail meanders to the northwest, gaining about 300 feet elevation until at the 2.7 mile mark from the trailhead it crosses Ouzel Creek via a log footbridge. Forty-foot high Ouzel Falls is upstream and visible from the log. For a closer look, you also can take a spur to the falls, which is at 9370 feet elevation. The spur adds about 0.5 miles to the hike.

At 3 miles from the trailhead, the route divides. Bluebird Lake Trail goes left/southwest while Thunder Lake Trail goes right/northwest. The National Park Service constructed the pair in 1926.

Take the Bluebird Lake Trail into Wild Basin. Along the way, you’ll pass the Aspen Knoll Campground. Ouzel Creek is to the left/south.

About 3.5 miles from the trailhead, you’ll walk through a forest of burned out tree trunks. In 1978, the Ouzel Fire, caused by lightning, burned more than a thousand acres here. The blaze took nearly four months to put out.

Bluebird Lake
A spur on the left leads to Ouzel Lake at the 4.6-miles mark. Taking it adds a mile round tip to the hike.

Continue straight/southwest on the Bluebird Lake Trail. The route now becomes rugged and steep with a fair amount of talus. Wildflowers abound in spring and summer, though.

Next you’ll cross Upper Ouzel Creek, which the trail hugs until arriving at Bluebird Lake, where it ends at the 6.3-miles mark. Three peaks surround the boulder-ringed lake – 13,176-foot Mt. Copeland to the south, 12,716-foot Ouzel Peak to the west, and 12,632-foot Mahana Peak to the northwest. The lake is at 10,978 feet elevation.

At one time, Bluebird Lake was dammed with a 58-foot high and 200-foot long wall. In 1989-90, the park service removed more than 5 million pounds of concrete and rebar from the dam – all via helicopter!

Whenever at this elevation, always keep a watch for fast-changing mountain weather. In addition, pack as if you are going stay the night, just in case weather makes heading back impossible.

Learn more about the park's day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at Rocky Mountain National Park.