"Enjoy this 7.8-mile out-and-back trail near Basalt, Colorado. Generally considered a moderately…read morechallenging route, it takes an average of 3 h 56 min to complete. This is a very popular area for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. The best times to visit this trail are June through October. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash Thomas Lakes trail is one of the prettiest hikes in the area, and rewards hikers with some spectacular views and some gorgeous woodland. This hike isn't overly brutal, but does provide hikers with some steeper sections, so proper footwear is a must, and all visitors should expect a long day hike with some challenging distance." 1. there is a dirt lot at the trail head with multiple parking spots. 2. There is a bathroom at the trailhead. There is not however trash cans or dog poop bags. 3. Cows graze off the trail so if you hear something bigger it is possibly a cow. 4. If you are backpacking, it does say a bear canister is required. 5. The road up to the trail especially the last few miles is a little rough the trail i felt like was a gradual climb to get to the lakes. Wildflowers are popping right now! Many beautiful views along the way. The lakes are lovely! Great views of sopris.

Welp it's a long drive for just a day hike....but…read more.. If you want to backpack for a night or two it is an amazing place to explore. Fantastic hike to the lake: Roughly 2.8 miles with about 2000 feet of elevation gain. Lovely vistas and streams the whole way. Wildflowers abound aplenty all along the trail if you hit it right. Great campsites ( please pack out everything and no wood fires). Great hike to Electric Pass with slight exposure. Dogs are allowed on the trail. Smallish parking lot Last mile is on bad road and a small car might have problems....just saying

Such a gorgeous hike that's worth it 100%! Still snowy and having spikes and poles would make it…read moreeasier and not as sketchy, but we did see people in sneakers making it. Amazing views of cathedral peak and other mountains. At the lake there were backpackers that camped out over night to hike cathedral peak. Definitely a climb only for experienced people especially with all the snow. The parking lot is small and up a dirt road that low clearance cars can reach. The path is hard to find in the snow at the top but we just followed footprints and the sound of the water. There is no service on the road and ok the hike. Highly recommend this hike, especially when the lake isn't iced over.

Whether you go snow shoeing hiking like a normie. This trail has changed and evolved so much that…read moreevery time I hike it I find new features new things and more challenges. It's a strong standing testimony that nature is forever wild and we are just the visitors Mother Nature allow. Enjoy the photos. NO YOU CANT SWIM IN HANGING LAKE! Do not be a bum and touch the water or get into it it's to be respected and enjoyed.

Such a beautiful end to a straight up hike! We loved seeing hanging lake , it was smaller in person…read more but just as spectacular. The trail is very clear, it's basically stairs going up for the 1.3 miles - 8 bridges total. I wouldn't go on a weekend or holiday or really any time other than off times - because even then, it was busy and hard to navigate around groups with such a narrow trail. There is a sprouting rock trail to the left of the hanging lake with a small trail leading to another waterfall coming straight out of the mountain. Overall, you can see why it is so busy - oh also, you have to have a parking reservation so make sure you sign up ahead

One of the great turns to Aspen. Nice place to stay for a while and enjoy the sight of water in…read morethis splendid land-locked state.

Beautiful lake full of hiking and camping areas. We did dispursed camping, there are ton of spots…read morewith fire pits on highway 82 on the right across from perry peak campground. No reservations required, first come first serve but every time we have come we never had a problem finding a spot even on a holiday weekend like labor day. We played in the lake with our dog Daisy, she absolutely loves swimming for toys and the water amazing! It was cold but not freezing, we want to bring our paddle boards next time. We park at mountain view overlook, be sure to pay the fee to park or you will get a ticket! We love coming here, the views are amazing and it's never too crowded. Highly recommend stopping by or camping here.

I emailed this KOA to inquire about the burn ban that was going on in the area. Per county rules,…read moreJetBoils ARE allowed but this campground told me I couldn't use them and suggested I get a cabin instead. So they're lying to try to make customers upgrade for an unnecessary cost. They should be embarrassed. If you don't want to allow JetBoils then say that but don't lie to make it sound like they're not allowed when the county says they're okay.

Sweet campsite at this KOA by the water. You can hear the River rushing down and creating this…read more"white noise" type of sound all times of the day. Super comforting during the night. It was super easy to check in and they were kind enough to let us check in early (11:45am) They do offer cabin rentals, RV sites and tent sites. Our Site: We got a tent site and it was pretty big. A bit bigger than the rest and it was perfect for our party of 4. You can only bring one tent and it has to be on the tent pad so extra tents or any tents placed other than the tent pad are not allowed. Which was a huge bummer. We were 2 couples with 2 tents and had to purchase a bigger tent to fit all of us in it to fit on the pad. All in all we made it work. Parking: You have to register all vehicles that are staying in the campsite and only one car is allowed per site, which is somewhat of an inconvenience. Any extra vehicles are $5 more. We were told to park the extra vehicle in the extra parking spaces that were far away from our site. Bathrooms and Showers: They only have Male and Female bathrooms and showers an no gender neutral bathrooms or showers, so it can be very uncomfortable for masculine presenting women to go to the bathroom. They did say they had just remodeled the entire place so they completely missed the opportunity to be more inclusive. However, the bathrooms were very clean, and the showers were really nice. We did bring our own bathroom tent to avoid any type of uncomfortable encounters when having to use the little girls room and were told we could not have it bc they were trying to grow grass and any bodily fluids would be harmful to the soil. So we had to put our toilet away :( Each site has a fire pit and the camp ground offers wifi and a little convenient store. They do come around every other hour or so on their golf-cars selling fire wood and making sure everyone is following the rules. I honestly loved this place and would come back. The town's nearby are gorgeous and the staff here is super nice.

The lake was good as a quick stop for us. We drove around it a bit and noted a few areas to pull…read moreoff and fish or sit. I didn't see signs posted stating to stay out of the water, but I also didn't see anyone in the water. It isn't far from Leadville and is worth checking out.

Absolutely gorgeous. My partner took me and my huskies to Turquoise Lake in the midst of our…read moremulti-day camping trip. The pups LOVED swimming in the clear, clean water. The view of the mountains was stunning. Other people were around camping or fishing. Lots of trail to hike or bike. We didn't personally camp here, but it seemed very serene. Leadville continues to impress me with its beautiful scenery!

Great campground in Gunnison National Forest. It is on Forest Service Road 706, off county road…read more12, between Paonia and Crested Butte. There are 15 campsites (FCFS) plus a small parking area for day use. CR 12 and FSR 706 are not paved, but any vehicle can travel the roads. The highlight of the campground is Lost Lake, a pristine alpine lake at 9600' elevation. The Beckwith Peaks are in the background. If you paddle across the lake (SUP or kayak - no motorized water craft) you get a stunning view of the Ruby Range. (No Ruby Range photos since I didn't bring my waterproof phone case this trip). The lake is dammed and is filled with snow runoff. Even in midJuly, the water was COLD. No chance in h e l l I was going to let myself fall off that SUP! But midJuly was prime time for the wild flowers. Lupine. Queen Anne's lace. Wild rose. Pentsemon. Sneeze weed. Cow parsnip. Fire weed. Absolutely stunning. I'm told the lake is stocked twice annually with rainbow trout. But I don't fish so can't verify. I did see lots of fishermen though.

This campground was relatively easy to access, on a gravel road well-maintained. The camping spaces…read morewere not too crowded in on each other, and plenty of trees for shade. There are picnic areas with grills, bathrooms, and access to the lake for recreation. Plenty of trails for hiking by foot, or with horses. This place makes for a great one-day or multi-day visit.

We had a great time on the river! Booked a shuttle ride with Mike day of and he was super…read moreaccommodating and helpful. Would definitely recommend a river paddleboarding trip through beautiful Crested Butte. Mike was very knowledgeable and helped us with lots of insights so we could float successfully. So glad to see the shuttle option was available to allow us to cruise around and end up at our vehicle. Thanks for the great service, Float Shack!

We kayaked down the Slate river. It was one of the best excursions we have ever done! Relaxing,…read morebeautiful, and fun! Even got to get up close to some cows. The owner was such a great guy and was so kind to us. Everyone should try this!

The Glenwood Canyon drive is not to be missed! So, I didn't really dig deep into so many travel…read moredetails, when I planned this last trip to Colorado. We went on kind of a whim, so I had no idea that we were going to pass through Glenwood Canyon, when I planned our itinerary. This was such a treat! The canyon views will take your breath away. Some of the rock formations looked like ancient cities. There was some construction happening during our drive, so it reduced the speed to 40 MPH, which we were glad happened because we were able to observe the majestic views. I did not want this ride to end. There are some rest stops along the way, so you can get out and explore a bit more outside of your car. We stopped at one and had access to the Colorado River and that was nice to see... looked like there was a trail for hiking and biking, too. Glenwood Canyon is a definitely must, when visiting Colorado. I was glad that we did this during the summer and not during our visit in the winter. I can't imagine driving through this, when it's icy, snowy and has the potential for avalanches. Colorado has some of the most amazing change in terrain and things will just pop-up and surprise you, like this place did.

Yes - the views are absolutely stunning. And I've been through the canyon before- hiking, biking…read moreand as a passenger in a car. Yesterday was the first time I ever drove this - as the driver. And It totally freaked me out. It is super scary to drive. I just felt like if anything went wrong - like even if I sneezed - then I would go over the edge and die. And there is absolutely no cell service in the canyon. So if you crash your car, you can't even call someone to rescue you. And your Sirius doesn't work, so you can't even listen to calming music. Great place to visit, but if you have any anxieties - leave the driving to someone else!

This park is absolutely wonderful, I have been exploring this area since the late 80's. So many…read morerecreational opportunities. Growth is inevitable in the valley and I would rather see it run by the state park service than get abused by rationalization. I was there recently to update my hunting and fishing licenses and was impressed by the professionalism. Abby was kind, knowledgeable, and thorough during the process, Thank you Abby! The information center and store is the best I have seen in the entire state. No question I will be coming here for years to come!

Wonderful area that has lost a lot of charm due to volume and registration system. Too many rv's…read moreand a loss to the local community. It has been sad to watch it be on over-run by the state park system over the years. Nice cabins, great rv pads, great campsites if you want to be next to many people and can make a reservation.