Sight · Rocky Mountain National Park
A shallow backcountry lake reached by a long Wild Basin hike.
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
Finch Lake Trailhead: The Long Walk to Pear Lake“Finch Lake Trailhead is coming up, for a long hike to Pear Lake below Mount Copeland. Plan on twelve point eight miles round trip and eight to nine hours, with about twenty-one hundred feet of climbing.”
Plays as you drive up to Finch Lake 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
Finch Lake is a shallow high-country lake in Wild Basin, ringed by thick lodgepole pine forest. It is a backcountry destination, not a roadside stop, so the hike is the main commitment.
The lake is 4.6 miles from Finch Lake Trailhead or 5.3 miles from Wild Basin Trailhead. The routes gain about 1,440 feet and 1,410 feet, respectively, and the listed travel-time estimate is 4 to 6 hours. Plan for a substantial outing.
The climb starts with a ridge ascent, then passes through forest and aspen groves. A little past 1.9 miles, an opening looks toward Mount Meeker. Farther on, the route crosses part of the area burned in the 1978 Ouzel Fire before descending to the lake. Columbines can flower along the early climb, and the aspens add color in fall.
The eastern shore is the best place to take in the lake. Walk about 20 to 30 yards toward the left after arriving; the water gives you a foreground for Ogalalla Peak and Mount Copeland to the west.
Two individual campsites and one group/stock site sit on the north side. There is no privy, so campers pack out human waste. Water from Cony Creek needs boiling or treatment, campfires are prohibited, and bear-resistant food canisters are required from April 1 through October 31. Portable stoves are allowed.
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
ChallengingLake of Many Winds Trail15.3 mi · 11 hr · 2.1 mi awayClimb past Wild Basin waterfalls to a high lake beneath Boulder-Grand Pass.
ModerateHidden Falls Trail1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA short, faint Wild Basin path to a sudden waterfall.
ChallengingBluebird Lake Trail12 mi · 9 hr · 2.1 mi awayA long climb past two waterfalls ends at a high alpine lake.
ModerateOuzel Falls Trail5.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayThree waterfalls reward the climb well before the turnaround.
ChallengingLion Lake No. 1 Trail13.6 mi · 8.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayWaterfalls lead to Lion Lake beneath a wall of high peaks.
EasyCopeland Falls Trail1 mi · 45 min · 2.1 mi awayA short creekside walk to Lower and Upper Copeland Falls.
ChallengingThunder Lake Trail13.6 mi · 6 hr · 2.2 mi awayWaterfalls and creek cascades break up the climb to a high lake.
ChallengingOuzel Lake Trail9.8 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayThree waterfalls punctuate the long climb to Ouzel Lake.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayCalypso CascadesSpring runoff turns this boulder-and-log waterfall into a roar.Sight · 1.1 mi awayOuzel FallsCopeland and Calypso Cascades come before the 40-foot finale.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayPear LakeA high lake two miles beyond Finch, reached on a long hike.
Sight · 2 mi awayCopeland FallsTwo small cascades make a quick creekside detour in Wild Basin.Sight · 2.3 mi awayOuzel LakeA high lake beyond Wild Basin’s chain of waterfalls.
Sight · 2.5 mi awaySandbeach LakeSandy lakeshore, peak views, and a 1,970-foot climb.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayBluebird LakeA long Wild Basin climb to a high lake ringed by peaks.
Picnic area · 3.8 mi awayCopeland Lake Picnic AreaA lakeside picnic stop beside the Sandbeach Lake trailheadParkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
