Trip
Intermediate Snowshoe – Brainard Lake Rec Area - Winter Gateway
This is the second in a series of Ascending Hikes, Winter Edition this season: A ~ 7 mile snowshoe hike to Brainard Lake via the South St Vrain Trail in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area. We'll follow a loop route, leaving from the winter parking area and utilize snowshoe trails with a visit to the CMC Cabin (hopefully it's open) and marvelous views of Brainard Lake and the surrounding Indian Peaks.
Contacts
- Sun, Dec 21, 2025
- Ascending Hikes Section
- Snowshoeing
- Adults
- Moderate
- Mileage: 7.0 mi
- Elevation Gain: 950 ft
- High Point Elevation: 10,465 ft
- Pace: 1.3-1.8 MPH
- FULL, 10 on waitlist (9 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
This will be a loop route from the Brainard Lake Recreation Area winter parking lot. We'll follow the Sourdough Trail north to the South St Vrain Trail. We'll turn west along the trail until we find the CMC Cabin just north of Brainard Lake. Hopefully it will be open and we can enjoy eating our snack/lunch inside the hut. We'll then make our way along the CMC Snowshoe trail to the east side of Brainard Lake and get some more views of the surrounding Indian Peaks. We'll attempt to locate the Snowshoe Trail #814.3 which we'll follow back to the parking lot. Our route will keep us out of avalanche risk areas. Our pace will accommodate all participants. Overall ~7 miles and ~1000 ft elevation gain. (Brianard Lake South St Vrain Loop - CalTopo)
Carpool Place & Time: Meet at US 36 & McCaslin Blvd PnR-South 7:00AM for a 7:15AM departure (US 36 and McCaslin Blvd Park and Ride - South - Google Maps)
We'll then carpool to the Brainard Lake Recreation Area winter parking lot (Brainard Lake Winter Lot - Google Maps)
Additional carpool meeting place could include location further north.
Required Equipment
Ten essentials and snowshoes are required. Trekking poles are recommended