Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
A steep forest climb ends at a class 3 summit block.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
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 area
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 on the road 1.2 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Rocky Mountain Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“…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.”
Trail guide
Lookout Mountain Trail is a 4.72-mile out-and-back from the Horse Creek trailhead near Meeker Park. It climbs about 1,960 feet through forest to a sandy saddle, then follows cairns to a table-like summit rock around 10,700 feet. The mapped line is 2.36 miles each way; published round-trip estimates range from 4.5 to 4.9 miles. Allow about four hours for the climb and summit finish, with more time if you want a long break or are not used to the altitude. It’s a good pick for a short but steep day with a real scramble at the end.
From the trail sign, continue on the main path past a faint right-hand spur after about 50 yards. Roughly 300 yards farther, another path branches left over a footbridge toward Wild Basin; stay on the main route. It follows Horse Creek before the climbing really starts. The trail passes from national forest into Rocky Mountain National Park, then winds uphill through dense lodgepole pine.
After roughly two miles of climbing, the grade eases at a sandy saddle between Lookout Mountain and Mount Meeker. The ground changes from forest soil to loose sand, and the twisted limber pines make this a good place to pause. Filtered openings look toward Twin Sisters, but the broader views wait until near the summit. Turn left, southeast, and follow the cairns for about a quarter mile to the rock.
The summit block is a broad, table-like slab with a couple of class 3 moves to get on top. That’s hands-on scrambling, and you need to be comfortable getting back down the same way. From the rock, Mount Meeker fills the view; other peaks spread around the horizon, with the plains visible beyond the foothills. For a photo, put the slab in the foreground and Mount Meeker behind it for scale.
From Colorado 7, turn west onto CR 113N opposite Meeker Park Lodge and follow the dirt road about 0.6 mile to the trailhead. Parking is extremely limited, with room for only about three or four cars. Keep nearby private drives clear and do not continue onto the private driveway. The route enters Rocky Mountain National Park, where pets are prohibited on trails, so dogs cannot do this hike.
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 · 1.2 mi awayA high-country climb to a broad sandy shore and alpine views.
ChallengingFinch Lake Trail8.6 mi · 7.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayClimb through the old burn to a pine-framed subalpine lake.
ChallengingPear Lake Trail12.8 mi · 8.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayClimb past Finch Lake and the Ouzel burn scar to Pear Lake.
ChallengingHutcheson Lakes Trail17 mi · 11 hr · 2.3 mi awayA hard lake hike that leaves maintained trail at Pear.
ModerateCalypso Cascades Trail3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayTwo Copeland Falls come before a much taller cascade.
ChallengingOuzel Lake Trail9.8 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayThree waterfalls punctuate the long climb to Ouzel Lake.
ChallengingThunder Lake Trail13.6 mi · 6 hr · 2.4 mi awayWaterfalls and creek cascades break up the climb to a high lake.
EasyCopeland Falls Trail1 mi · 45 min · 2.4 mi awayA short creekside walk to Lower and Upper Copeland Falls.
Picnic area · 1.3 mi awayCopeland Lake Picnic AreaA lakeside picnic stop beside the Sandbeach Lake trailhead
Sight · 2.6 mi awayCopeland FallsTwo small cascades make a quick creekside detour in Wild Basin.
Campground · 2.8 mi awayLongs Peak CampgroundA simple tent camp for an early Longs Peak start.Sight · 3.4 mi awaySandbeach LakeSandy lakeshore, peak views, and a 1,970-foot climb.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayEugenia MineA creekside boiler, mine tailings and a family story
Sight · 3.7 mi awayChasm LakeA high alpine lake under Longs Peak, reached by a hard hike.
Sight · 3.9 mi awayCalypso CascadesSpring runoff turns this boulder-and-log waterfall into a roar.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayOuzel FallsCopeland and Calypso Cascades come before the 40-foot finale.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
