Rainbow Lakes
8.3 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1130.1 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, bike, motorcycle, e-bike, horse · motorized use allowed
Trailhead Rainbow Lake Trailhead Drive there
Rainbow Lake Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up
<font style="background-color: #faf8df">Free</font>
Designated trailhead with access to trails that lie within the Mt Zirkel Wilderness. Please refer to the Wilderness Regulations. The wilderness is closed to motorized and mechanized vehicles. This 8.8 mile trail is easy to travel up to Rainbow Lake. From there it becomes harder to follow and is not well maintained. Water is available along most of this trail, but campsites are limited. No motorized vehicles are allowed west of Trail #1126. No developed facilities. Setting is managed forest area. Timberline is at approximately 10,500 feet elevation.
Restrictions Review <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mbr/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5133586">wilderness regulations</a> before recreating in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.
This trailhead on fs.usda.gov
Every trail in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest
The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.
