State: Colorado
Location: Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
Length, One-Way: 5.9 miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 9200 feet
Maximum Elevation: 10600 feet
Best Season: June to October
Difficulty: Moderate
Usage: Heavy
Trail Information
The Coney Lake Trail turns left (south) off the Beaver Creek Trail a quarter mile west of the Coney Flats Trailhead. It parallels the Beaver Creek Trail on a long-abandoned road through a meadow for another quarter mile, then crosses Coney Creek with no bridge. The old road grows steeper as the trail enters the woods of the Coney Creek Drainage.
Just before the old road ends, the trail takes off to the right and circles the far (north) side of a little pond. The last half-mile of the trail passes through brushy willows and small trees and can be hard to find. One hint is to stay right (north) of the buttress that divides the valley.
Upper Coney Lake is about a mile above Coney Lake. You have to bushwhack up the drainage through willows or on scree as no formal trail exists to the upper lake (el. 10,500 feet), which lies below the steep, north slope of Mt. Audubon (el. 13,223 feet).
During winter, the Coney Lake Trail becomes the domain of snowshoers.
Directions
To reach the Coney Flats Trailhead, turn off of Highway 72 onto County Road 96, about 2 and a half miles north of the town of Ward, or 7 and a half miles south of the intersection of Highways 72 and 7. Turn west on CR 96 and proceed about two miles on a well maintained gravel road to Beaver Reservoir.
Very limited parking is available on the north side of Beaver Reservoir where FDR 507 takes off from CR 96. Hike approximately 3.4 miles to the Coney Flats Trailhead. This hike follows the four-wheel drive road, FDR 507, for 1.5 miles. The hiking trail then follows an abandoned 2-track road for 1.2 miles before rejoining the road. It is 0.6 miles more to the Coney Flats Trailhead. Please hike within the old road bed and respect the private land boundaries you pass through.
If you have a four-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance you can continue on FDR 507 (a.k.a. Coney Creek Road) 4.0 miles from Beaver Reservoir , to the Coney Flats Trailhead. This is a very rocky and often muddy road. It is not recommended for vehicles pulling horse trailers. The last quarter mile of road crosses two branches of Coney Creek which can be waist deep in the spring. There are footbridges for hikers.
