Wild Basin Area: Bluebird Lake
Rocky Mountain National Park
Bluebird Lake is located 6.3 miles from the Wild Basin Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park. It occupies a large cirque below Ouzel Peak (12,716') just east of the Continental Divide. Visitors will enjoy varied terrain, a stop at Ouzel Lake and excellent fishing on the hike to Bluebird Lake.
Bluebird Lake (10,978') is located 1.9 miles and 968' up from Ouzel Lake on what can be a much more challenging climb through summer snowfields
Damp soils helped preserve a thin ring of timber around Ouzel Lake in the 1978 fire
High points along the trail offer good views to the east of Pilot Mountain (12,222'), Mount Alice (13,310'), Mt Meeker (13,911) and Longs Peak (14,259')
The Bluebird Lake dam removal was initiated in 1989 and completed in 1990
Cony Creek originates at Finch Lake and tumbles down Calypso Cascades before meeting N St Vrain Creek in a powerful confluence
An adult moose consumes approximately 10–12 lbs of food per day in the winter and approximately 22–26 lbs in the summer
Snow may linger well into summer, requiring a good sense of direction and safe route finding
A large buck sharpens its antlers on deadfall near Ouzel Lake
After RNMP was established, a long period of fire suppression began which contributed to unnatural tree densities and increased forest susceptibility to disease
The trail crests after a steep climb and glides down to rock slabs on the east side of Bluebird Lake
Ouzel Creek originates at Junco Lake just under the Continental Divide, and plunges through a steep, narrow chute at Ouzel Falls
Bluebird Lake's main outlet stream flows through a steep, rocky chute
Bluebird Lake lies in a deep cirque just beneath Ouzel Peak (12,716') on the Continental Divide
On clear days views can reach down Wild Basin and across the foothills into the open plains
Crags and spires along the north valley wall
A keen eye will find cairns in talus fields on the final climb to Bluebird Lake
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