Pike National Forest
Gibson Lake Trail #633

The Gibson Lake Trail is an easy 2.4 miles that is usually busy in the summer.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 10,315'
• High Point: 11,860'
• Trail ending: 11,860'

Access: At the site of Webster (between Jefferson and the Guanella Pass Road), turn north on Park County Road 60 (Hall Valley Road). Go 5 miles and, just past the Handcart Campground, bear left at the fork in the road. .1 miles to Hall Valley Campground and then the road starts to fall apart. From here to the end (another 1.4 miles) you might wish you were driving a 4x4.

Notes: The trail heads westerly up the north side of the Lake Fork drainage. Thetrail forks about 1.75 miles in. Go right and the unmarked trail heads up to the Continental Divide. Stay left on the well-established trail and go about 2 miles to treeline. Just above treeline you'll make 3 major stream crossings and then head into the willows and tundra up onto the shelf holding Gibson Lake. At the south end of the lake is a long water cascade tumbling down from another lake a bit higher up.

Gibson Lake is at the foot of Whale Peak (13,078') and the tailings piles in the basin tell you this was once a mining area.

USGS Maps: Jefferson