The Summertime Hunt For Wildflowers In Telluride
Colorado is one of the best places in the world to see wildflowers. The summer wildflowers in Telluride and all over the high country of Colorado are really a sight everyone must see. But with so many mountain towns with endless trails, not every trail will lead you to massive fields of wildflowers. Many trails will have a few varieties of wildflowers here and there. But if you do the work and climb some of the highest mountain tops, you will be rewarded with trails lined with endless wildflowers in every color.
The Telluride region is known for its many beautiful trails lined with wildflowers. That is why we chose to visit during the peak of the wildflower season in mid-July. July to early August is the best time to find summer wildflowers in Colorado. When we arrived in Telluride, we were unsure where to find the best wildflowers, so we chose a couple of trails before we found the one trail with the most beautiful display of alpine wildflowers you could imagine.
Which Blue Lake Has The Most Wildflowers
You would think that every hiking trail in Colorado has extraordinary wildflowers. But during our stay, only one trail had our jaws dropped the entire way up. The wildflowers were running from the river all the way to the top of the peaks. Wildflowers in Telluride are something everyone should see when they visit Colorado in the summertime. And if you really want to see a lot of them, you will have to hike up to Blue Lake behind Bridal Veil Falls. All of Telluride’s trails have unique wildflowers to see, but this trail was extra special.
You can hike up to three blue lakes in the San Juan Mountains, but the closest one from Telluride is above Bridal Veil Falls, the tallest waterfall in Colorado. From the town of Telluride, you can drive to the Bridal Veil Falls trailhead and hike up to the waterfall for about 1.5 miles. You can hike up the dirt road to the Blue Lake trailhead from there. The hike up to the blue lake is one of the best wildflower hikes I have ever experienced.
Find the trail map and more details here.
How To Get To The Lake
Then, from the Bridal Veil Basin trailhead, it is 3.3 miles up to the high alpine lake. As soon as you start your hike up the mountains, you will start to see those alpine wildflowers. The rosy pink Indian paintbrushes and happy mule’s ear immediately caught my attention. But as I continued to make my way up the rocky soil, the fields of wildflowers became much lusher and more colorful. The Colorado state flower, the blue columbine, was blooming everywhere.
When we reached the point where the trail broke into two directions, we decided to take it all the way to Blue Lake—saving the sight of Silver Lake for our next adventure to Telluride. We would have much rather taken the shorter trail to Silver Lake. But we were determined to see Blue Lake before the sun went down.
How To Prepare For The Hike Up
If you research this hike online, it says that it is good for kids. But don’t be mistaken in thinking the trail is easy because of this statement. It is a straight shot up and sits at 12,400 ft, which means it is a 2,000 ft elevation gain. Your legs will feel this one, especially because very few level points give your beating heart a break. Make sure you give yourself time to take breaks while hiking up. Or be prepared to get some intense cardio in.
You will need a high clearance 4×4 drive vehicle to make the hike a little easier. Then, you can drive up to Bridal Veil Falls or the Blue Lakes Trail Head. There is very limited parking, but this will cut 1.5 miles up and back off your hike if you need something easier to handle.
The Scenery That Makes This Hike One of The Most Beautiful Places On Earth
As you start to inch closer to the lake, you will see old mining buildings. They really add to the scenery and give a sense of mystery to what feels like an untouched place. Then, you will see something even more mysterious. A large critter that suddenly crosses your path or appears out of the corner of your eye. It was too big to be a cute little pika, so it must be the marmot. He might even start yelling at you with high-pitched squeaks that sound like a fire alarm going off. But there is no better companion to have high up in the backcountry of Telluride.
Once you get over the shock of your first marmot encounter, you will reach the lake just over the hill. It may have taken everything out of you to reach this point. But you made it. Now that you are here, you can slowly take in the beauty of water, the large San Juans surrounding you, and the most magnificent fields of wildflowers in Telluride. The scenery quickly makes you feel small and insignificant. It also makes you realize how much beauty there is to discover in this plant. It would be a shame to waste your time and miss beautiful experiences like this one.
How do we create a life that does not keep us from experiencing the world’s hidden beauty? Just follow me, the wild, wild dreamer, and I will show you where to go and how to live your very best life.
Other Telluride Hikes to discover are Sneffels Highline Trail, Bear Creek Falls, Ice Lakes Trail (Silverton), Island Lake Trail, Deep Creek Tail, San Miguel River trail, and many more.
Find more amazing hikes and wildflower adventures in Colorado here and get inspired to take your trip to the mountains.
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