St Mary's Glacier Trailhead - Idaho Springs, Colorado

Jean-Sébastien Roux

Le matin pour la randonnée et l'après-midi pour le lac ou... Les deux.
Belle randonnée à faire intermédiaire jusqu'à James Peak a plus de 4000 mètres. Le glacier ajoute une petite touche de fantaisie rafraîchissante à l'aventure.
Le lac a une eau glacial, mais Il est possible de s'y baigner les pieds et d'y plongée à partir des rochers.

Katya Кейнс

It’s a challenging hike up, but relatively short and worth all the effort. Truly beautiful scenery! Be careful though - we almost walked on a couple moose in the bushes. It was cool to see them but we just didn’t expect them in a relatively-crowded area. Hike up a bit further, towards the glacier, to see the lake with the mountain background. Exceptional!

One thing though - this trail is dog friendly, so if you bring your dog, DO NOT leave poop bags on the trail! It’s dangerous for the wildlife and bad for the environment in general. If you aren’t going to carry the poop bag all the way down (there are NO trash cans whatsoever along the trail), DO NOT pick up the ? at all! It’s much better to leave the poop in its natural state than leave it in a plastic bag! Be responsible human beings! If you leave the poop without the bag, it’ll be gone without a trace in 2 weeks. In a bag, It’ll stay there for millions of years and possibly kill some wildlife as well.

Odin Javans

We started at St Mary's Glacier and hiked all the way up to the top of James Peak. It is an out and back trail, 8 miles total with an elevation gain of about 2,900 feet. It is a difficult hike due to the elevation gain with the hardest parts at the beginning and the end. There are many spots where you are hiking on loose rock or small boulders. The trail is quite popular but when we arrived at 7am, were we the first car in the $10 lot. Yes, you have to pay to park on private property, there is a $10 which is further away and a $20 lot which is much closer to the trail head. Once you are past the glacier, there are fairly few hikers. The view from the top of James peak is magnificent. It was a difficult hike, mostly out in the sun, but completely worth it. One picture features a marmot and another has a pika, see if you can find both!

Tara Dactyl

$20 parking fee to help keep the trail clean. You'll need to bring a pen. Instructions and envelopes are next to the port o potties at parking lot of the trailhead.
3/4 mile hike to the lake, a little further to the "glacier". The trail has a lot of larger rocks, be careful of your footing or walk on the side of the trail.
I'm a 52 F, with moderate arthritis and totally overweight. I made it all the way to the glacier and small waterfall easy peasy!

Mike Soucie

Fantastic 3/4 mile hike to the picturesque St. Mary’s Lake and Glacier. Park for $10 at the lot located the end of Fall River Rd., in front of the beautiful Silver Lake, where we saw two moose. Just a 5 min walk to the trailhead, and 30-40 minute moderately difficulty rocky hike. I can’t believe we saw moose at Silver Lake!!

Yvette Watson

It was a good hike for us. We suggest taking hiking sticks to help walk up and back down. Take lots of water and take as many breaks as you need. We found lots of shaded areas and stopped for a bit and then kept going. It was definitely worth going, even though at the moment I didn't think so. We had a little picnic when we got up there. There are not any seating areas, but people were sitting on the rocks as well as the tree trunks. I would recommend a blanket to sit on the ground when you find your spot.

Johnathan Evans

Great hike but very challenging going up. From the terrain (rugged rocks and trees all over the ground) to the lack of oxygen it was rough going up. I loved the view and would hike it again. Definitely easier coming down!! $20 paid parking

Athenas Canal

This place was stunning and felt surreal. The hike was super short but is mostly all uphill so it was not super easy especially because there was still a bunch of snow but if you take a few breaks you should make it in about 20-30 minutes. I am wanting to come back in the summer to see the lake. We were able to walk on ice and take some pictures on a rock inside the lake. Dogs seemed to be allowed but have the on a lease and please clean up after them!