| 924 | Guide to Finch Lake - Pear Lake Rocky Mountain National Park |
2014-04-30 |
A couple of weeks ago we finally finished the map to the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. With the map completed, we began working on the guides to the trails on the map. We are happy to announce the guide to Finch Lake - Pear Lake is now up on cloudhiking.com.
Finch Lake and Pear Lake are great destinations in the Wild Basin. The Wild Basin area is located south of Estes Park, Colorado on Hwy 7 between Meeker Park and Allenspark. The area is not as crowded as the trailheads closer to Estes Park, but the Wild Basin trailheads' parking fills on good weather days.
Starting from the Finch Lake Trailhead the trail climbs steadily over a lateral moraine with good views of the mountains to the north (Meeker overshadows all the others, including Longs). The trail then descends from the ridge toward Allenspark and then climbs steeply to the top of the moraine again. An easier section leads to a trail junction. From the junction the trail crosses the old Ouzel Burn scar and contours to the slopes above Finch Lake. The trail descends to the lake. From Finch Lake the Pear Lake Trail continues for 2.2 miles to Pear Lake. The extra miles are worth it.
A few Finch - Pear notes ...
We have never seen any finches at Finch Lake though we have been entertained by a Clarks Nutcracker.
For that matter, we have never seen any pears at Pear Lake! (The lake was named for it's shape. There are no pear trees close by.)
The lakes are popular for day hikers and backpackers.
Getting reservations for one of the campsites is a big score!
We have met groups backpacking into the lakes on every one of our hikes.
Judging from the condition of the trail, most hikers stop at Finch Lake.
Expect snow on the trail to Pear Lake through the middle of July.
It is a multi-use trail (horses) but I have never seen horses on the trail.
Finch Lake is below timberline.
Pear Lake is at timberline with Mount Copeland standing high above.
We have not climbed Mount Copeland, but would like to. The south ridge of Copeland looks very enticing from Pear Lake.
From Pear Lake, an unmaintained trail climbs higher into the drainage to the Hutcheson Lakes and on to Cony Lake.
The cloudhiking guide includes mountain data, directions, trail description, photographs, trail notes from our hikes, mileage, map links - including for the geo - pdf map, and a section for comments.
Enjoy!
Happy Finch Lake and Pear Lake trails
Link to Finch Lake - Pear Lake cloudhiking pages