Boss Lake & Hunt Lake Trail Guide

Boss Lake and Hunt Lake are a pair of high alpine lakes located near Monarch Pass in central Colorado. This family friendly trail first takes hikers to Boss Lake Reservoir and then on to Hunt Lake. Both are beautiful locations to take in the views, fish or have a picnic. This trail is somewhat popular and will usually get busy on summer and fall weekends especially with Colorado Trail through and segment hikers.  

Boss Lake & Hunt Lake Quick Facts

Hike Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Distance: 7.5 Miles RT

Elevation Start: 9,719ft

Highest Point: 11,428ft

Total Elevation Gain: 1,950ft 

Estimated Time to Complete: 3-5 Hours RT

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 1 What does this mean?

Season: June – November (expect snow outside of this period)

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Boss Lake & Hunt Lake

Trailhead: Hunt Lake

Getting Here:  From Poncha Springs/ Points East: At the intersection of 285 and 50, continue west on US50 for 12.2 miles to reach the start of the trailhead just past Monarch Snowmobile Tours & Rentals on your right. If you have driven past the Monarch Mountain Lodge, you have gone too far. 

From Monarch Pass/Points West: Navigate to the top of Monarch Pass and continue down the east side until you reach Monarch Snowmobile Tours & Rentals on your left. If you have driven past the Monarch Mountain Lodge you have gone too far. 

From either direction, once you have found the lower trailhead, you can continue up FR230 for about 1.4 miles if you have a 4×4 car. Although this section is usually doable in most stock 4×4 cars, good experience with rough roads is needed. If you can’t continue up FR230, park at the lower TH.  

Fees: There is no fee on this hike.

Parking: The lower parking lot can only fit about 5-10 cars (if they are parked with common sense) while the upper TH can easily fit 20 or so cars. Neither trailhead has a bathroom.

Summary

Camping: Camping options for this hike start at the upper TH and continue to be sporadic until you reach Hunt Lake as this section of trail follows both the Colorado & Continental Divide Trails. The best camping is at the TH or right near Hunt Lake IMO.

Dogs: This hike is dog friendly but please obey typical dog hiking rules: pick up poop, pack out everything and keep dogs leashed around other hikers/dogs. 

Make it a Loop: Boss Lake and Hunt Lake is an out and back hike. 

Trail X Factors: The biggest x factor about the hike to both lakes is where you are starting your hike. If you are able to make it up to the upper TH, you take away about 2.8 miles of hiking making this a very quick and short hike. If you are into fishing, both lakes are stocked with fish each year, making this a great hike and fish combination day. 

Hike Tip(s): If you want to maximize the views on your hike to Boss Lake & Hunt Lake, check this one out in the fall when foliage in the area is peaking. Although much of the hike works through evergreen forests, you will have fantastic aerial views of the valley that is littered with aspen trees from Boss Lake. 

Best Views: The best views are at both lakes themselves. At Boss Lake you get fantastic views of 13er Mt Aetna to the North. Once at Hunt Lake there are also great views of the basin that surrounds the lake and the mountain passes above.

Boss Lake & Hunt Lake Hike Route

Gear Needed

• Men’s Trail Runners
• Women’s Trail Runners
• La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
• La Sportiva Trango Hiking Booths (Women’s)
• Backpack
• Food & Water
• Optional: Garmin inReach
• Optional: Hiking Poles
• Optional: Headlamp
• Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
• Optional: Camera and Lens
• Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
• *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.

Our Trip to Boss Lake & Hunt Lake: June 2020

Monsoon season seemed to arrive early in Colorado in 2020 so Jackie and I knew that we had to be off high terrain by noon. After looking around a bit, I found the hike up to Boss Lake & Hunt Lake which checked off two boxes: staying down low and hiking to alpine lakes which Jackie loves. Although there was still some lingering snow in the area once we got past Boss Lake Reservoir, we were able to make it up to Hunt and enjoy the entire hike before the rain showers moved in. 

Questions or comments about the hike up to Boss Lake & Hunt Lake? Leave a comment below or follow me on Instagram!