Lead King Basin Trailhead

Elk Mountains

Road Difficulty

5 Rough 4WD, high clearance

Location9,700 feet
39.077264, -107.086425

Driving Directions

From Carbondale, drive 21.5 miles south on CO 133. Turn left on Gunnison County Road 3 toward the town of Marble (this road may be labeled as FR 314 on some maps). Measure the mileage from here:

Drive 5.5 miles to the center of Marble and continue through the town.
Pass a church at 5.8 mi. and Beaver Lake at 6.2 mi.
At 7.0 miles, the road becomes rough.
At 7.7 miles, there is a junction. Turn left on FR 315 (Lost Trail Road) for Lead King Basin.
The remaining 6+ miles is rough and narrow. 4wd vehicles only.
At 9.7 miles, there is another junction. Stay left on FR 315.
After a long drive with many switchbacks, cross a small stream to reach a corner at 13.8 miles.
Continue a bit farther south down the road and cross the creek again to reach the actual trailhead, shortly after. The trail starts on the east side of the road, in the parking area.

Notes

Rough 4WD. High-clearance vehicles with short wheel-base highly recommended.

CAMPING RESERVATION REQUIRED
A reservation is now required to camp at Geneva Lake and permits are very limited. If you cannot reserve a camp spot and still want to hike Snowmass Mountain from Lead King Basin, your best option is to day hike it from your parking spot. For reference, here's a map of the new permit-required zones. To check for permits go to recreation.gov and select the permit zone that includes Snowmass Lake.

Trailhead Status Updates

Most Recent Update 7/3/2026:

All stream crossings on FR 315 are navigable. No uncleared avi debris. Make sure you don't miss the fork in the road 2 miles after the FR 315/FR 314 junction - marked as FR 315.2. Stay LEFT here (the easier route, thankfully!) Watch for the occasional white post and slow down - they mark unseen obstacles. I drove it in an FJ Cruiser and hit bottom once on the way to Lead King Basin TH - I gun...

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Winter Access

Closed near the town of Marble.

Trailhead Facilities & Fees

Parking: Parking for ~10 vehicles.
Camping: There are a places to pitch a tent in the nearby clearings.
Restrooms: No
Fees: No

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