a trail marked as “Bowls”—meaning backcountry ski bowls. This path is steep at first, but mellows as you arrive at a saddle at timberline with a lovely park basin beyond. A strange crater sits in red dirt in the saddle, for no reason I could discern. Aliens? Above to the right are the bowls: the graceful slopes of Diamond Peaks.
Coyote in Diamond Peaks Bowls
Across the park, the distant castle formation of Nokhu Crags in the Never Summer Range grabs the eyes, along with range-topping, slate-gray Mount Richthofen, behind it. The Japanese-sounding name of Nokhu actually comes from the Arapaho phrase neaha-no-xhu, meaning “eagle’s nest.” Richthofen was named for an adventurous German baron-scientist, who coined the term “Silk Road” and discovered goldfields in California.
The park is a great destination, but a higher saddle on the verdant ridge of Diamond Peaks is even better. There’s no established trail, but it’s easy to see where to go, and the stony tundra provides a fine walking surface. On reaching the saddle, conquering the next Diamond peak becomes irresistible. A faint trail takes you to its crest in minutes, and the views are great: Never Summers to the south and east, Clark Peak and other Medicine Bows to the north, and forested slopes of State Forest State Park (in which you are now standing) to the northwest. The state park was formerly the Colorado State Forest, and its west-slope hillsides were heavily logged in the 1900s. The largest lumber camp in Colorado was located downhill west of Montgomery Pass; for a time it used German prisoners of war as laborers.
Nokhu Crags and Mount Richthofen, from Diamond Peaks Bowls
From here the next, and highest, Diamond peak practically begs to be climbed. This delectable smooth green pyramid is only 0.75 miles farther and 270 feet higher. First, drop 150 feet to the saddle, then zigzag uphill through grass on the faintest of trails. The reward is a blasting view of Richthofen and its neighbors, including Seven Utes Mountain, which looks tailor-made for a ski resort. Also on view is a rare southward look all across Rocky Mountain National Park.
Seven Utes was in fact considered for ski resort development—in the 1960s, when Denver was vying to host the 1976 Winter Olympics. Investors ponied up millions of dollars. The games ended up in Austria, and progress on the Seven Utes development slowed under decades of impact studies. In 1993, a California investor tried to build a Vail-scale resort here, but public opposition was vociferous, and the investor gave up.
And so this remote and gorgeous high place remains tranquil and resort-free. As you turn around and make your way back down into the yawning green Bowls, perhaps you can picture returning in winter and doing it on skis—this time with an avalanche beacon in your pocket!
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue on CO 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) and proceed west another 56.5 miles to the parking lot for Zimmerman Lake Trailhead, on the left. 2 hours, 45 mins.
14 American Lakes
Some call them the American Lakes, others the Michigan Lakes; all would agree they are beautiful. Children, novice hikers, and seasoned mountaineers alike will delight in this gorgeous walk high in the Never Summer Range.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 7.5 miles/3.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 9,800 feet1,400 feet | |
| Children | Features | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wildflowers, high lakes, majestic peaks | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes, horses, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Entrance fee, no toilets at trailhead, thunderstorm exposure above tree line | |
| Property | State Forest State Park, Routt National Forest | Jurisdiction | Colorado Parks & Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service |
American Lakes Trail begins modestly on an old logging road in State Forest State Park, formerly the Colorado State Forest, which originated from a 1930s federal land swap and had a mandate to “extend the practice of forestry.” In those days, that meant ramping up the logging. Timbering peaked in the 1950s as protests grew over the visibly denuded mountainsides. The last of the lumber camps closed in the early 1970s, shortly after this park was established.
High slopes peek through trees as the road curves in the valley. At 0.5 miles, the spiky Nokhu Crags appear briefly on the right, a titillating preview of scenery to come. At 1.2 miles you’ll cross Upper Michigan Ditch, a canal sending western-slope snowmelt east to Fort Collins. Continue toward the multicolored walls of Thunder and Lulu Mountains, through a meadow so stuffed with wildflowers in July it will blow you away. Lulu was named after an 1880s silver mining town on its other side, which was itself named for a mining bigwig’s daughter.
Lulu Mountain view from American Lakes Trail
At just over 2 miles, you’ll cross the stream and make easy switchbacks uphill on a narrower path. The views include rust-colored cliffs and lobes of Iron Mountain to the northeast. As the trail wraps into the upper valley, gray peaks steal the show to the southwest: Mount Richthofen, highest in the Never Summer Range; its box-castle lower partner Static Peak; and, delaying their second appearance for dramatic effect, the spires of Nokhu Crags. Across to the south is the graceful green swoop of Thunder Pass.
American Lakes
The Never Summers are younger than most of the Rockies, formed by volcanic action and intrusive processes less than 30 million years ago. The name, like many others in this vicinity, is a result of a 1914 hiking trip organized by the Colorado Mountain Club. The group wanted to replace the prosaic names settlers had assigned to local landmarks with names Native Americans used. Club members found two Arapaho elders who agreed to trek through the mountains with an ethnographer to record names and stories. The U.S. Geological Survey sanctioned dozens of those names but some ambiguity had crept in. When the hiking party reached the Never Summer Range, the Arapaho gentlemen offered a name that could mean either “It is never summer” or “Never no summer.” The former was adopted, but as you can see, summer does arrive here—and is exquisite.
At 3.75 miles the first of two American Lakes arrives, gem-set beneath the Crags. This is a nice stopping point where smaller hikers can rest, take in the scenery, and perhaps brave dipping their feet. For those wanting more, the alpine playground beckons. You can go left to lovely Thunder Pass (0.5 miles) or branch right to Snow Lake, which is set higher in a fabulous cirque (0.9 miles). I recommend doing both, and perhaps doing the lake first.
For Snow Lake, follow the up-and-down path along the north shore of the two American Lakes. A steep cairn-marked route through scrub and boulders will take you above timberline to the cirque below
