Filed Under: Hiking, Running
The Saint Vrain Glacier Trail #917 continues west where the Buchanan Pass Trail #910 makes a sharp switchback to the east one and a half miles west of the Middle Saint Vrain Trailhead, and 5.3 miles west of the Buchanan Pass Trailhead on the Buchanan Pass Trail. This junction is also 3.6 miles west of the Coney Flats Trailhead and 7.0 miles west of the Beaver Reservoir Trailhead on the Beaver Creek and Buchanan Pass Trails.
The Saint Vrain Glacier Trail continues west through the Indian Peaks Wilderness for another 3.1 miles to Gibraltar Lake (elevation 11,200 feet), at the foot of the Saint Vrain Glaciers. The first part is on an old road, but there are two unbridged crossings of Middle Saint Vrain Creek, which can be difficult, especially in early summer. Near the crossings the trail breaks up into little paths as runners seek the easiest route across the creek. The old road ends at a scenic pond with little islands. The outlet can be crossed on a pile of logs, but watch your footing as they are old and becoming rotten. At a large cairn on the far side, a constructed trail continues for another mile. In a field of boulders, even the trail gives up, leaving you to wind through the rocks. Before the small lake in the bottom of the valley, a faint path climbs the hillside towards Gibraltar Lake, running out somewhere in the rocks. The Saint Vrain Glacier Trail ends in a dazzling cirque basin, resplendent with a half-dozen delicate lakes, craggy rock walls and glacial remnants.
Directions
Camp Dick is one mile off of Highway 72 at mile-marker 50, approximately four miles south of the intersection of Highway 7 and 72. Turn west onto paved National Forest System Road (NFSR) 114. Park in the lot at the west end of Camp Dick, or you can reach the Middle St. Vrain Trailhead in a 4-wheel drive with high clearance: drive 3.6 miles farther on NFSR 114 (a.k.a. Middle Saint Vrain Road - this is a rough 4-wheel drive-only road, closed from late October through late June or early July).
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