Fourth of July Trailhead: Caribou Lake and Lake Dorothy, Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, Colorado
Fourth of July Trailhead: Caribou Lake and Lake Dorothy
Indian Peaks Wilderness Area
Caribou Lake sits near treeline in a large, secluded basin 750’ below the west side of Arapaho Pass. This memorable journey follows the North Fork of Middle Boulder Creek drainage to the Continental Divide, where it continues down a shifting set of switchbacks to Caribou Lake. Lake Dorothy is the highest named lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. It lies in a deep cirque basin between the base of Mount Neva and Arapaho Pass along the Continental Divide.
| Related Trails: | Lake Dorothy Caribou Lake |
Panoramic views of the upper valley en route to Arapaho Pass
Lake Dorothy is renowned for its large cutthroat trout
Caribou Lake from Arapaho Pass
Caribou Lake's marshy, slow moving outlet
Looking south along the Continental Divide from Arapaho Pass toward Mount Neva
Looking down upon a large pond above Caribou Lake from the Caribou Pass Trail near Lake Dorothy
Steep, narrow switchbacks drop precipitously from the Continental Divide to Caribou Lake
Caribou Lake's damp basin is replete with summer wildflowers
Lake Dorothy
The upper valley floor is rich with glacier-fed streams and ponds
Looking northwest across Caribou Lake's secluded alpine valley
Summer wildflowers carpet the open slopes of the lower valley
The final approach to Caribou Lake runs through verdant rolling meadows
The Continental Divide rises over a tundra bench from Lake Dorothy
Numerous glacier-fed ponds dot the valley floor
Mount Neva seen from the Arapaho Glacier Trail junction
An isolated pond beneath Lake Dorothy
A hiker along the Continental Divide on the final approach to Lake Dorothy
A sturdy wind shelter on the shore of Lake Dorothy
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