Kite Lake Trailhead

Location

RangeMosquito Range

Elevation12,000'

Lat/Lon39.32758, -106.12928

14ersMt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Bross

Road Difficulty

2 2WD, rough dirt, good clearance

Rough 2WD dirt and usually requires good clearance as you get closer to the actual trailhead.

Driving Directions

Take Colorado 9 to Alma. In the middle of town and on the west side of the road, look for a small sign for the road to Kite Lake. It's across the road from the "Caniglia Real Estate" building. Turn here and drive a bit through a residential area. Continue 6 miles to Kite Lake. The last mile of this road can be a bit more rough, but a good-clearance 2WD should still be able to make it to within a couple hundred yards of the TH lot, when the road is dry. There are restrooms and some camping spots at the trailhead and an $8 fee is required.

On-Site Info

Parking12-15 spots at the trailhead. Everyone else has to park along the road.

CampingSome established camp spots at Kite Lake. More dispersed spots along the road, just below the trailhead.

Restrooms?Yes, at the trailhead parking area

Fees?Yes, $8 in summer

Photos

Winter Access

Closed at the Paris Mill site which is about 3 miles up from Alma but 3 miles below Kite Lake.

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
Map


5/10/2025 Posted On: 5/10/2025 By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Road closed/gated at the start of the fee area (has been the winter TH some years). High enough drift of snow right below the parking to likely ward off a lower-clearance vehicle, but most should be able to make it to one of the pull-offs before it.
4/12/2025 Posted On: 4/13/2025 By: daway8 Info: Road mostly dry until about 1.6mi from the summer trailhead, then intermittent snow drifts for maybe half a mile before the final stretch becomes all snow. It will take a good bit more warm weather before you'll be able to drive all the way to Kite Lake. There was room for multiple vehicles to pull over along the side of the road just before the snow starts.
1/1/2025 Posted On: 1/1/2025 By: marcstrawser Info: plowed to Paris.	1
11/2/2024 Posted On: 11/2/2024 By: madmattd Info: A few small stretches of thin packed snow/ice down low, basically dry from the gate to the parking lot. Badly rutted just above the last switchback (nothing really new there), and a few similar spots afterwards to the lot. I was the only non-crossover or higher clearance vehicle to park in the lot that I saw - a couple Civic/Corolla types actually stopped just before the gate. Go get it before they close the gate!
10/30/2024 Posted On: 10/30/2024 By: Town_of_Alma Info: The Kite Lake access road gate will be closing Monday 11/4/24 for the winter season.	2		1
10/12/2024 Posted On: 10/12/2024 By: butlerer Info: Road to the trailhead was dry on 10/12. Took my Subaru to the end of the road and camped overnight at the trailhead. There were a couple other sedans at the trailhead. Any as long as the road is dry, any sedan should be able to make it to the station to pay your entrance fee. It's 1 mi from there to the trailhead. There were two deeper ruts in the road that I could drive around, but I wouldn't have been able to take the Subaru down through the rut. Enjoy!
8/3/2024 Posted On: 8/3/2024 By: lesherhawk Info: Just a heads up finding the road to the Kite Lake trailhead in Alma. Look for a road called Buckskin and turn there. The building directly across from the intersection is currently for sale and the Caniglia real estate building is down the road a bit so its a bit confusing. Also there is no Kite Lake sign until you turn into the residential area and then you will see it.	1
7/25/2024 Posted On: 9/3/2024 By: jainanoel Info: bumpy but reasonable 2wd for most of the road, gets much much worse after the final switchback. Got my Model 3 RWD to about 1/4 mile away from the main parking lot with only one minor scrape underneath but probably should've stopped sooner.
6/19/2024 Posted On: 6/19/2024 By: mijoflynn Info: Open since at least last weekend. Road is in typical condition -- easy 2WD till the last half-mile, then rough 2WD.	2
6/5/2024 Posted On: 6/5/2024 By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Still closed at current winter gate ~1 mile below Kite Lake.	2
5/17/2024 Posted On: 5/17/2024 By: Veory Info: Road plowed up to 39.31603, -106.12138. Continuous snow from there on out.	3		1
12/28/2023 Posted On: 12/30/2023 By: starfishprime Info: Still easily driveable to the gate 1mi below Kite Lake with AWD/4WD, there was a corolla parked about 2 miles from the Lake, unsure if they parked to be safe or if they had issues.
11/22/2023 Posted On: 11/22/2023 By: tlgold1990 Info: Road is still accessible to the gate. A little snow here and there but nothing crazy. Same from the gate to the summer trailhead.	1
11/12/2023 Posted On: 11/12/2023 By: sarahmariekirk Info: Road to Kite Lake is basically dry all the way to the gate. There is some snow covering the road at the very beginning, but dry all the way after that. The gate is closed which adds 1 mile each way to the trip!
11/11/2023 Posted On: 11/14/2023 By: Da Legit Master Info: The road leading to the Kite Lake Trailhead is closed at a locked gate 1.1miles back from the trailhead at around 11,500'. There is enough room to park three vehicles here. There is hardly any snow on the road on either side of the gate.

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