Trail Work at Echo Lake: Photo Essay

Last week (Sept 17-19), crews from Mountain Parks and their counterparts from other Parks & Rec divisions (Forestry, Rivers & Trails, Natural Areas) spent a few days resurfacing trails at Echo Lake Park. How's this for a great place to work? Clear crisp days, at 10,600 feet, and scenic views meant easy recruiting for this special project. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

At this elevation, the sedges around the lake and the willows near the picnic area are already showing signs of fall color. While the crews worked, an artist finished up a pastel painting of Mt. Evans and surrounding scenery. Her cooperative subjects now grace the header of our blog and provided a beautiful background for the trail work.

With 10-20 people on hand each day, a great deal of work was accomplished quickly. Willows were trimmed away from the trail, and fresh crusher fines were spread. The Echo Lake Trail provides fishing access, as well as a comfortable almost-level surface for a pleasant mountain walk. It connects to backcountry hiking trails on adjacent Forest Service lands and into the Mt. Evans Wilderness, including the Chicago Lakes Trail and Bear Track Lakes Trail.

The crew from Forestry brought along special equipment to help remove dead pines and spruces, including a few killed by blue-stain fungus, aka "beetle." Some wood was salvaged for use, but the trees infested by beetles were disposed of. Scouts have volunteered to build rustic barricades of smaller branches to help protect off-trail sensitive areas, especially the fen wetlands at the east end of the lake.

Lunch breaks in the picnic area offered time to get acquainted with people from the other divisions. A.J. Tripp-Addison (right), Mountain Parks superintendent, stopped by to thank several of the workers for their assistance.

Echo Lake Park was acquired by the City of Denver back in 1921. Five years later, the beautiful rustic Echo Lake Lodge was built of local logs and stones at the east end of this natural lake.

In the mid 1920s, this stone picnic shelter was built in the picnic area at the west end of the lake. It still used today; a small concession stand nearby, also built of local stone is no longer in use.

In the afternoon, as clouds gathered over Mt. Evans and the day grew blustery, a local duck came by to check out the new crusher fines on the trail. A somber view of Mt. Evans, with duck, could be seen from inside the Echo Lake Shelter.

Echo Lake Park is 14 miles from Idaho Springs on Highway 103, part of the Mt. Evans Scenic & Historic Byway, and was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. For more on Echo Lake, visit our history pages for more photos, information, and maps of the area.