I haven’t done much exploring of the foothills near Golden, so this weekend we decided to go on a hike to the Blue Lakes via the Mitchell Lake trail up near Ward, Colorado.

It was easily one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve done in Colorado so far. Throughout this hike, there are three big lakes to see among many other small ponds and bodies of water, rushing streams and rivers. There were so many beautiful patches of wildflowers throughout and it looked like it could have been the set of a fairytale.

Trail Tips

• This hike was 6.1 miles out and back (not a loop) and we gained about 1400 feet in elevation. I would rank this as a moderate hike.
• Bring bug spray. We went on this hike in early July and the mosquitos were out in full force. I walked away with about 20 new bug bites and my brother got 45. Aside from the actual lakes, there were standing bodies of stagnant water at the top which is a feeding ground for mosquitos. So do yourself a favor and load up on bug spray before hitting the trails!
• I hiked this trail in Teva hiking sandals and while it was totally doable, I wish I had on my hiking boots for arch support. My knees were really hurting the next day.
• The trail has a ton of large rocks all throughout it, so the extra ankle and arch support from hiking boots would help with stability.
• Bring lots of water and snacks! This took us about 3 hours to complete and by the time we had gotten back to the truck I was ready to fill up on water. About halfway through the hike, I had an energy gel pack which really helped me through the hike.

Happy hiking!