White River National Forest · Colorado

Josephine Lake

1.6 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1916 · trail class 3 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 39.3788, -106.5830 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Josephine Lake TH #1916 the Forest Service's write-up

The trail starts at the junction with Henderson Park trail and ends at the lake. Josephine Lake Trail climbs about 1,100 feet in elevation in just a little over one mile; until you get on the ridge at which time the trail drops down by the lake surrounded by 12,000+ foot peaks. The entire length of this hike; in at Henderson Park trailhead, up to Josephine Lake, out at Henderson Park trailhead; is 10.8 miles from start to finish - a tough one day, yet a beautiful backpack trip. There are great views of the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness to the south with the Elk Mountains off to the right and in the distance. You can also access this trail from Last Chance Creek trail. Wildflowers are in abundance in the meadow on the trails leading to Josephine Lake.

Restrictions <ul><li><a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whiteriver/recarea/?recid=81113">Holy Cross Wilderness</a> regulations apply to areas within the Wilderness boundary</li><li>Dogs must be leashed </li></ul>

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in White River National Forest

All 729 trails in White River National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

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.