Silver Dollar Lake Trail #79

Updated on June 17, 2012 by

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Difficulty

Moderate - some uphill climbing over rocks. Approximate elevation gain 1,000 ft.

Trail Length

Approximately 4.8 mile round trip

Trail Description

The trail begins at the first parking lot just off Guanella pass road (a new paved parking lot with plenty of spaces provided you get there early)- the first ¼ mile of the hike is a four-wheel drive road that leads to a second parking lot and the trail head.

This quiet hike is a continuous, gentle incline up to the lakes. It begins in an area of lodge pole pine forest, then through some willow scrub and eventually opens up with fewer trees and open hills. The surroundings are breathtaking as you come out above the forested area. The high snow-covered mountain peaks and boulder fields and forest around the lower lake are very beautiful. It can be cool and windy even in mid summer.

If you hike this trail before July, plan on hiking through some snow in shady areas. (We went in June and lost the trail several times because of the snow). One difficulty with this trail is that it is not clearly marked with signs so look for the dirt path and indicators of foot traffic if you lose the trail in the snow.

We chose to hike only to the first lake (Naylor Lake) because of the steep boulder field leading to Silver Dollar Lake. Eating on the top of the hill overlooking Naylor Lake was quite beautiful and refreshing with the sun and the brisk wind. Naylor Lake is private property so look for the signs indicating where the boundry is.

Restrooms only available at nearby campground.

Other hikes nearby that you may enjoy:
Sporting Times Trail
Rosalie Trail
Square Top Lakes Trail
Mt. Bierstadt Trail

Directions

Click Map Below. Take I-70 out of Denver west approximately 35 miles to Georgetown. Exit Georgetown (exit #228). Turn left onto 15th St and then immediately take the 1st right onto Argentine St. Next, take the 1st left onto 11th St. Then take the 1st right onto Rose St.. Follow Rose St until it turns into 2nd St/Co Rd 381. Continue to follow Co Rd 381/Guanella Pass Rd. for about 9 miles (just past the Guanella Pass campground) to the trailhead. Parking lot is split on both left and right sides of the road. For Guanella Pass Seasonal Road Conditions and Closure times click Colorado Dept. of Transport

Attractions

Georgetown offers an old historic main street with shops and restaurants. If you want a sweet treat, be sure to try the ice cream at the Georgetown Valley Candy Factory. Try the steam locomotive that travels from Georgetown to Silver Plum and back again. Get tickets in town or at the depot. Need a place to stay near this hike? Try Hotel Chateau Chamonix in the histroic, Victorian town of Georgetown: Rose Street Bed and Breakfast, Silver Queen Bed and Breakfast, OR The Horstmann House Bed and Breakfast.
Category: 60 Mins from Denver, All Trails, Moderate, Most Popular Hikes, West of Denver Tags: , , , , , , ,

About Mary Norton, Contributor of this Hike

Mary grew up here, so she knows all the best places to go! With a family of 6 children and no lack of enthusiasm for the outdoors, Mary is well qualified to give you tips and hike spots that will challenge you as well as delight your whole family. Whether you have kids, dogs, or are just looking to enjoy nature by yourself, Mary will show you where to go to find what you are looking for.

  • Renntenn

    I have to tell you, the biggest thing this site is missing is ANY indication of how long or short a hike is. It seems so bizarre that isn't anywhere on the site for any entries.

  • marynorton

    Hi. And thanks for your comment. There are several hikes here with exact mileage i.e. http://funcoloradohikes.com/reynolds_park.html There are others however that do not have exact mileage because they are either one way (not a loop hike), and/or they are described for each individual to decide how far to hike according to his or her ability. We designed this site with the idea that hikers may want to hike a trail for 15 minutes or for a couple hours. There are different trails for this criteria.
    If you would like exact trail mileage for your hikes, try the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/recreation/hiking/

    Hope this helps!

  • Darlenelt0521

    Is there trout fishing allowed on Silver Dollar Lake and Naylor Lake

  • Nybor_

    Hiked this yesterday.  Please note that there are a great deal of trees blown across the trail for the 1st qtr mile. 

  • Jay

    this trail is actually more like 2.4 miles from the lower lot. Classify the grade as easy if you want, but it’s pretty rocky and rough for much of it, and you’ll climb somewhere around 1000 verticle feet to get to Silver Dollar Lake. A great trailthough that is still highly recommended.

  • Cas

    4th of July 2012. Wonderful day for a hike, the wild flowers were in full bloom, even the pink elephants! I pulled out my topo to check the mileage from the lower lot and my trusty ruler says the it’s abount +/- 2.4 miles to Silver Dollar Lake, total mileage is 4.8 round trip. The fish were biting today as we saw a couple of guys proudly carrying out their catch of the day which looked like about 8 – 12″ trout.

  • Nicole

    Fabulous hike! Nice temperature drop from denver to the mountains – always a plus. Things of notes: directions to take 10th off of Rose, don’t actually work (or there is another 10th somewhere in georgetown that i couldn’t fine!!!), just take rose till it hits Guanella Pass road. Also – hike is 1.75 from the second parking lot! 2.24 from the parking lot by the road. Beautiful scenery, definitely a do again! Thank you for posting your hikes!

    • Golferdad

      Directions don’t mention 10th Street so maybe that’s why you had trouble..

    • marynorton

      Thanks for mentioning it. The directions have been revised (must have been a typo for 11th street).

    • marynorton

      Thanks for mentioning it. We did revise the street to 11th not 10th street.

  • Pingback: Silver Dollar Lake Hike @ Nicole Wilker

  • B.RAD

    Who tricked out’ the road (truely a scenic biway)?–IT’s amazing. The trail is even more special. It would be hard to find a similar, private cirque lake without hiking a much greater distance. I can’t wait to bring my family back to free some of those trout from that tiny swimming pond.

    • http://funcoloradohikes.com Mary Norton

      Guanella Pass Road IS so much better than it used to be! Good luck with those fish. And send us a picture if you can, we’d love to see what kind of fish are in those lakes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jessie.pipal Jessie Pipal

    beautiful hike… if you continue the trail up over the ridge beyond silver dollar lake, it will take you on a short but steep hike to murray lake which i definitely recommend

  • http://www.facebook.com/becky.davis.37266 Becky Davis

    This was a beautiful hike, but the gentleness of the first 1/2 to 3/4 miles after the trailhead is a slight misnomer. It’s more steep than gentle unless of course you’re used to climbing the Himalayas. I recomment driving to the trailhead parking lot as well. Its a real steep jeep trial but my Chevy Cavalier could have made it, had I tried it!!. It’s also more like 1/2 mile from the paved parking lot to the trailhead. It is a fabulous hike with great vistas of the valley you climb through. I’d give it a 5 star rating, if I could have figured out how to make the star thingy work for me. This hike also doesn’t take all day so it’s a great mornign activity.