Hiking Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop | Four Beautiful Lakes

Hiking Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop is a short but super scenic hike in the beautiful Mount Zirkel Wilderness. This loop makes for a great hike near Steamboat Springs, entering the southern tip of the wilderness. In just a short three miles, Buffalo Pass Lakes Trail visits four gorgeous alpine lakes – George Lake, Martha Lake, Whale Lake, and Jonah Lake. Plus there’s a quick side trail option to a fifth lake – Shoestring Lake. And not to mention, the trail itself starts with a quick glimpse of Summit Lake. Now that’s one scenic hike stuffed full of just the good stuff!

Quick Info: Hiking Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop

Distance: 3 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Directions: Buffalo Pass can be accessed from either Steamboat Springs (west) or Walden (east). Click here to get directions to Buffalo Pass Lakes trailhead.

Road Conditions: From Steamboat Springs, the dirt road get really rough and rocky and high clearance may be necessary. But from Walden, the dirt road is in really good condition up to the trailhead parking area. Keep in mind that the road to the trailhead, Buffalo Pass Road, is closed seasonally often until June. See below for more information.

Trailhead Amenities: Vault toilet

Information About Buffalo Pass Road/Forest Road 60

Forest Road 60 from Steamboat Springs is a 15 mile scenic unpaved drive to Buffalo Pass. It begins at about 6,700 feet elevation and reaches 10,400 feet at Summit Lake Campground. The parking area for Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop trailhead is just outside of the campground.

Coming from Steamboat Springs, the road to the trailhead is in pretty good condition at lower elevations and is passable with passenger vehicles. But at higher elevation the road gets more rough and rocky and high clearance is advised. From Walden, the road to Buffalo Pass Lakes Trail is in good shape all the way up to the parking area.

Since this area receives a lot of snow, Forest Road 60 to Buffalo Pass is closed to vehicles seasonally. Portions of this road may be closed well into June and even into July.

In addition to two developed Forest Service campgrounds, there are also a number of spots for dispersed camping on Forest Road 60. Since it is among the closest dispersed camping near Steamboat Springs, this area is highly trafficked. But it’s a gorgeous area and worth checking out!

Our Experience Hiking Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop

While we were dispersed camping on Forest Road 60, the top portion of the road was still gated off. So we spent some time exploring the surrounding area and ended up coming back to the area to hike Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop. And we had a very special visitor with us – Grandma! We were excited to show her the beauty of the area.

We accessed the parking area coming up from the east side and the road was in much better condition than from the west. There is a large dirt lot near a vault toilet at Buffalo Pass which is where we parked. From the parking area, we crossed the road and picked up the trail. Finally, I realized that we were on the wrong trail. We accidentally picked up the Wyoming Trail. It was off to a beautiful start but we turned around and found the correct trailhead. Turns out we were supposed to walk into the Summit Lake Campground a short ways to the start of Buffalo Lakes Loop.

On the Right Track

Now that we were on the right trail, we stopped first to take a look at Summit Lake. Not a bad start considering we hadn’t even started hiking Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop yet. Finally, we spotted the single track dirt path and the hike began.

The trail begins as a mellow hike through the woods before reaching Jonah Lake. Jonah Lake was beautiful! There are a few fun rocky portions of the shoreline but the majority is grassy or met with tall pines. And there were a few little rocky island with pines trees on them. I always love alpine lakes with islands, they just add to the already gorgeous landscape.

We climbed around on the rocks and found a spot for lunch. As we were eating our picnic, we were also being a picnic for the mosquitoes. They sure know how to ruin a perfect moment.

After we ate and took in the beauty of Jonah Lake, we continued hiking Buffalo Pass Lakes loop. The trail leads along the shoreline, eventually getting a little narrow between the rocks and the water. I like that the trail follows the shore because it allows for getting more views of the lake from different perspectives.

We left Jonah Lake behind and the trail led us into the woods. Here the trail became more rocky with some steep little ups and downs. The trail then paralleled a beautiful lush stream.

Hike it Later – Pin it Now

And before we knew it, we got our first glimpse of Whale Lake. Whale Lake was also beautiful! Like Jonah Lake, there shore was mostly grassy with pines but with a couple areas of rocky little mountainsides. There weren’t any little islands in this lake though still super scenic.

Whale Lake is about one mile into the Buffalo Pass Lake Loop and sits at just over 10,000 feet elevation. And Grandma came all the way from her home at less than 1,000 feet elevation. So we decided to turn around here this time.

From here the trail continues either left or right along the lake shore of Whale Lake. If you follow the faint trail to the right, you will reach Shoestring Lake in about a mile. To continue hiking Buffalo Pass Lake Loop, follow the very faint trail left along the west shore of Whale Lake.

After another half mile or so on Buffalo Pass Lake Loop trail, you will reach Martha Lake. Martha Lake sits at about 10,300 feet elevation and like Jonah Lake, has an island in it. Then in another nearly half mile, the trail reaches George Lake. George Lake is the smallest lake on Buffalo Lake Loop and sits at around 10,400 feet elevation. From there, the final half mile leg of the trail leads back to Summit Lake Campground where the journey began! All in all, Buffalo Pass Lake Loop is a wonderful, short hike jam packed full of great scenery.

Thanks for Reading!

We love getting to explore new places and discover the beauty of new hikes. And Colorado is an incredible state for it! If you would like to read about some of our other hiking adventures, check out the articles below:

• Backpacking North Halfmoon Lakes + Mount Massive
• Humphrey’s Peak via Inner Basin Trail
• Backpacking Peeler Lake Loop
• Lower Monument Loop

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