Route Description

Take Exit 240 at Idaho Springs on Interstate 70. Drive south on Colorado 103 for 13.5 miles at Echo Lake. You can park near the lake (by the picnic area) or drive up to the Echo Lake Lodge and park in one of the parking lots near the entrance to the Mt. Evans road (Colorado 5).

Details:

Park near the Echo Lake lodge and walk west past the lodge to locate a trail that starts on the side of the parking area. Follow the trail west through the forest along the south side of Echo Lake - Photo #1. Continue to the southwest corner of the lake near a picnic area (still in the forest). If you started your hike at the picnic area north of Echo Lake, walk along/around the lake to the south to get to this point. Here, the trees open up a bit and you will find the sign for the Chicago Lakes Trail. Take this trail west and then southwest to the top of a ridge where you can look down into Chicago Creek.

Switchback about 400' down into Chicago Creek. Cross the creek on a log bridge and you will hit a dirt road (still Chicago Lakes Trail). Follow the road up to the Idaho Springs Reservoir at 10,600'. You have hiked 2 miles from the lodge. Past the reservoir there are some small buildings - continue past and up to the right. As you start to go up the hill, there is a sign-in book where you enter the Mount Evans Wilderness. The hike begins. Photo #2 shows some of the view and Photo #3 was taken about 1/2 way up Chicago Creek. Photo #4 looks back down on a portion of the creek. Hike to the first Chicago Lake (11,420') and soak up the view. From here the hike gets a little harder. Photo #5 and Photo #6 show the route ahead. Hike up through some large boulders to the second Chicago Lake (11,750').

At the northeast end of this lake, cross over the water to the base of Mt. Warren (13,307'). In the summer of 2005, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) constructed a trail on the west side of Mt. Warren. Locate the trail and climb southeast up the fragile slope. You do not have to go directly up to the summit of Mt. Warren - stay on the trail to reach the top of the ridge near 13,100'. Photo #7 looks down on the route from the Spalding-Warren saddle. From here you can see Summit Lake (12,830') and the Mt. Evans road. Hike down from the ridge to the parking area at Summit Lake.

You have hiked approximately 5.5 miles from the lodge. For the remaining route to the summit, turn right at the end of the lake and use Mt. Evans - Route #3 via Mt. Spalding. To reduce the return mileage by about a mile, the Northeast Face route can be used to return to Summit Lake.