I'm hoping to get some advice.

I'll be in CO beginning July 21 and want to get a 3-4 night backpack trip. I have a permit to do the north loop in the Indian Peaks Wilderness but I talked to the rangers today and it sounds like the snow is still too high.

They recommended I look at the Lost Creek Wilderness. The place looks great but it also doesn't look like what I envisioned for my first CO adventure. I've also looked into RMNP. Snow will be an issue there too but they recommended I could take two two-nighters (possibly twin owls loop and Lawn Lake).

Any advice on choosing between Lost Creek and RMNP? Are there other destinations that are close to Denver and relatively snow-free that I should consider?

Thanks for your help!

Lost Creek is nice, but if this is your first trek in CO and you're looking for that "true" Colorado alpine experience, I would recommend RMNP hands-down. Plus, much of Lost Creek was burned in the Hayman fire in '02 so is sparse for greenery. Lawn Lake is a sweet overnighter, as is Ypsilon Lake (same trailhead for both). Both are nestled in the Mummy range and pretty isolated. I would also recommend the west side of RMNP, like North Inlet trail where there are several lakes.

The Never Summer range is beautiful as well (accessed from west side of RMNP), although you'll probably encounter tons of snow up higher. Lake of the Clouds and Parika Lake are options in the Never Summers.

If you want an alpine experience, and are focused on Northern Colorado, you will run into snow regardless of your location if you're above 10k feet. The snow is melting quickly, though, so in another 10 days much more will be gone. If you do chose to backpack in RMNP, you'll need to secure a backcountry camping permit at one of the designated backcountry sites (or one of the cross country backcountry areas). Whatever you do, enjoy!

RMNP Backcountry Camping Guide page:
http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/b ... _guide.htm

You may also consider the southern Sawatch range by Buena Vista. It's about 130 miles (2 1/2 hours) from Denver and won't have near the snow you'll encounter in the northern part of the state. Pine Creek is a great multi-day trip, as are Missouri Basin, Kroenke Lake, and Ptarmigan Lake.

Great! I'll check these out. Thanks for the help.

Yeah, the Never Summers look like they'll live up to thier name this year, I'm personally not going to even bother with them til September. Lawn Lake is a really nice place, but it's also one of the more popular sites. Try Cutbank or Golden Banner if you cant get the lake site. Lots of good peaks in the area.

I just went up the N. Inlet yesterday to do Bench Lake, no snow until at least the Lake Nanita intersection. Try for Pine Marten/N. Inlet Falls/N. Inlet Junction sites to climb Ptarmigan Mountain and Andrews peak. Thats about it for that area.

Lost Creek is a great area but it is where I go to have a change of pace from the "normal" CO mountains. RMNP is holding a ton (relative for this time of year) of snow right now too. You may want to check out the Sangres if you want a dry mountainous region. We went up Spring/Veneble/Comanche in May and was in awe looking at the Phantom Terrace on Veneble. I've heard it's a great summer hike - info on this site. South Colony Lakes (Crestone), Sand Beach Lakes (Tijeras), Huerfano Valley (Lindsey) are great destinations too.

If you are willing to drive to the San Juans, well, options are endless down there.