Pike and San Isabel National Forests · Colorado

Slide Lake

0.6 mi of trail, end to end · Slide Lake Trailhead: 2.3 mi out and back in the Service's write-up · native material surface · trail No. 1500 · trail class 2 · typical grade 8-10% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Trailhead Slide Lake Trailhead Drive there

Slide Lake Trailhead 2.3 mi out and back · the Forest Service's write-up

Slide Lake Trailhead may be accessed via FS 145 which is a rough 2.7-mile route that is open to 4-wheel drive vehicles, hikers and mountain bikes. The motorized route ends before reaching the lake. The hike to Slide Lake via Slide Lake Trail #1500 is approximately 2.3-mile out and back. Slide Lake is a beautiful 20 acre alpine nestled just below the Continental Divide at 11,700 feet. The west shoreline is in the Holy Cross Wilderness Area .

Visitors to the area enjoy hiking, fishing, wildflowers and wildlife viewing in the warmer months and cross-county skiing and snowshoeing in winter.

The 10th Mountain Division Hut is located just below Slide Lake.

Restrictions <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/psicc/specialplaces/?cid=stelprd3795315">Wilderness regulations apply</a>&nbsp;in the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/psicc/recarea/?recid=37210">Holy Cross Wilderness</a>.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Pike and San Isabel National Forests

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About this trail's facts

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.