Picnic area · Rocky Mountain National Park
A lakeside picnic stop beside the Sandbeach Lake trailhead
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Rocky Mountain Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Rocky Mountain National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Rocky Mountain audio tourRecorded for this place
Sandbeach Lake Trailhead and a Copeland Lake Picnic“You're approaching Sandbeach Lake Trailhead, the start of a full-day hike to a broad sandy lakeshore.”
Plays as you drive up to Copeland Lake Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Rocky Mountain Tour Guide.
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“…No cell service for majority of the day but had continuous access to the app - the maps, the tour guide as you drive is amazing. Highly recommend purchasing the subscription.”
Guide
Copeland Lake Picnic Area is a small stop on unpaved Wild Basin Road, just before Sandbeach Lake Trailhead. Five accessible picnic tables and permitted portable grills make it a straightforward place for lunch. I'd pair it with the hike or another Wild Basin stop instead of making it the whole outing.
The lake sits in a forest of ponderosa pines and some aspen, with Copeland Mountain and St. Vrain Mountain beyond the shore. For a photo, let the open water lead toward the peaks and use the pines to frame the view.
Bring food and drinking water; no on-site food service or potable water is listed for this stop. Leashed dogs are allowed in established picnic areas, but not on park trails.
Wildlife
3,124 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
1,601 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
19 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
19 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
30 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
270 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Rocky Mountain. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingSandbeach Lake Trail8.7 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA high-country climb to a broad sandy shore and alpine views.
ChallengingLookout Mountain Trail4.7 mi · 4 hr · 1.3 mi awayA steep forest climb ends at a class 3 summit block.
ChallengingFinch Lake Trail8.6 mi · 7.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayClimb through the old burn to a pine-framed subalpine lake.
ChallengingPear Lake Trail12.8 mi · 8.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayClimb past Finch Lake and the Ouzel burn scar to Pear Lake.
ChallengingHutcheson Lakes Trail17 mi · 11 hr · 1.5 mi awayA hard lake hike that leaves maintained trail at Pear.
ModerateCalypso Cascades Trail3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayTwo Copeland Falls come before a much taller cascade.
ChallengingOuzel Lake Trail9.8 mi · 6.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayThree waterfalls punctuate the long climb to Ouzel Lake.
ChallengingThunder Lake Trail13.6 mi · 6 hr · 1.7 mi awayWaterfalls and creek cascades break up the climb to a high lake.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayCopeland FallsTwo small cascades make a quick creekside detour in Wild Basin.
Sight · 3.3 mi awayCalypso CascadesSpring runoff turns this boulder-and-log waterfall into a roar.Sight · 3.4 mi awaySandbeach LakeSandy lakeshore, peak views, and a 1,970-foot climb.
Sight · 3.6 mi awayOuzel FallsCopeland and Calypso Cascades come before the 40-foot finale.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayFinch LakeA shallow backcountry lake reached by a long Wild Basin hike.
Campground · 4 mi awayLongs Peak CampgroundA simple tent camp for an early Longs Peak start.
Sight · 4.5 mi awayChasm LakeA high alpine lake under Longs Peak, reached by a hard hike.
Sight · 4.8 mi awayLongs PeakThe park’s 14,259-foot summit is a serious, exposed climb.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
