Colorado trails · West Grouse Creek Trail

West Grouse Creek Trail

A 8.5-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 4,042 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,005 ft. Reaches Lower Turquoise Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by USFS Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District.

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Length

8.5 mi

Elevation gain

4,042 ft

Highest point

12,005 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

33%

Steepest mile

+814 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

4.8 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Surface

dirt

Dogs

yes

Bikes

Horses

yes

Managed by

USFS Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Lower Turquoise Lake (lake)
Waterdog Lake (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Grouse Creek Trailhead — parking nearby. 39.59409, -106.43428 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:05 a.m., the sun rises at 6:32 a.m. and sets at 7:38 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:06 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 06 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 17.1-mile round trip takes roughly 10 h 22 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 4:54 p.m. — 2 h 44 min before sunset.

Loop options

Hay Meadow + Grouse Lake Trail + West Grouse Creek Trail — 3.0 mi loop, 832 ft gain