State: Colorado
Location: Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
Length, One-Way: 4.2 miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 10500 feet
Maximum Elevation: 12000 feet
Best Season: June to October
Difficulty: Difficult
Usage: Moderate
Trail Information
The trail to Isabelle Glacier begins by following the Pawnee Pass Trail as it climbs gradually for 2 miles, through wooded terrain, into the Indian Peaks Wilderness, past Long Lake to Lake Isabelle, which sits just below the tree line.
At Lake Isabelle, follow Isabelle Glacier Trail as it forks left from the Pawnee Pass Trail and continues along the north side of Lake Isabelle to the source of the South St. Vrain Creek Isabelle Glacier. The Isabelle Glacier Trail is a difficult social trail, climbing over talus and passing through swampy areas on its way to the upper lake.
Beyond the lake, there is a narrow, but constructed switchback trail up a somewhat unstable steep, rocky slope, which may be hidden under the skirts of the glacier early in the summer. The Isabelle Glacier Trail ends finally beside Isabelle Glacier in a very steep-walled cirque basin framed by Shoshone, Apache and Navajo Peaks.
After snow begins to fall, it is common to see snowshoers and backcountry skiers along the Pawnee Pass Trail and the Isabelle Glacier Trail.
Directions
The Long Lake Trailhead is within the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, off of CO 72, 13 miles north of Nederland, just north of the town of Ward. Turn west onto the Brainard Lake Road (a.k.a. County Road 102, FDR 112 closed at halfway point from late October through late June or early July). Travel approximately 5 miles on the paved road to Brainard Lake. The Long Lake Trailhead is a half mile up the left fork of a side road that turns off at the west end of Brainard Lake.
