| Silver Dollar Lake 12,200 ft. Route |
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| Silver Dollar Lake 12,200 ft.   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 39.59300°N / 105.763°W Route Type: Hike Time Required: Half a day Difficulty: Class 1
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| Page By: Aaron Johnson Created/Edited: Mar 17, 2004 / Mar 10, 2006 Object ID: 160426 Hits: 4209 Loading... Page Score: 86.22% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
ApproachFrom Georgetown on Interstate 70, drive south on the Guanella Pass road 8.7 miles. At a switchback, the turn out to Silver Dollar Lake will be on the right. Drive up this short road, passable for high clearance vehicles to a limited parking area.
Route DescriptionSign in at the trailhead register if one is present. The area sees a lot of use, so please be considerate and limit your impact as much as possible.
From the parking area, continue west on the Silver Dollar Lake trail. The trail is heavily used and is obvious. The route winds through the forest and climbs steeply to gain a perch above Naylor Lake before traversing across the north slopes of Square Top Mountain due west.
The trail crosses several gullies that may be snow filled. Later in the season the snow may be hard and make a safe crossing a bit harder to achieve. Slipping and sliding on the snow would likely not result in a serious injury, but care is indicated nonetheless.
The traverse continues, soon topping out in some marshy areas. If these spots are really soggy, use the willows and rocks to support your crossing whenever possible to keep human caused erosion at a minimum.
Silver Dollar Lake is just beyond. The trail crosses the mouth of the lake to the west shores. A spring crossing of the outlet might require a quick dance with some light feet.
An ascent of Square Top Mountain is feasible from Silver Dollar Lake via several possible options, likely Class 2 or 3. Do not climb Square Top from here unless you are experienced and have good route finding experience.
Return the same route.
ROUND TRIP MILEAGE: 3 miles
GAIN: 1,000 feet
Essential GearSPRING: Snow shoes and ice axe are highly recommended in addition to winter clothing.
SUMMER & FALL: Standard day hike gear will do.
WINTER: The route crosses prime avalanche terrain and is not recommended for a winter attempt.
Miscellaneous InfoIf you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.
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Front Range (CO)
