North Halfmoon Lakes + Mount Massive Amazing Backpacking Trip

After going on some seriously gorgeous adventures near Crested Butte, we moved on to see more of what Colorado has to offer! Although there weren’t many forest roads in between Buena Vista and Leadville we did find a nice spot at the popular dispersed camping area on Halfmoon Creek Road. This ended up being a convenient spot because we could set off on our backpacking trip to North Halfmoon Lakes from the road we were camping on. And we were so excited to be adding on Mount Massive (14,421 feet) to our first overnight adventure in the area! Mount Massive is the second highest mountain in Colorado and the third highest in the contiguous United States. And it was going to be our first 14er!

If you’re looking for an overnight adventure in the Leadville area we would definitely recommend backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes with a summit of Mount Massive! Go during the week to experience solitude as you explore the three beautiful high elevation lakes that make up North Halfmoon Lakes. And after a gorgeous day of exploring the lakes, sleep lakeside and enjoy the stunning display of stars. Then enjoy a challenge as the marmots and pika keep you company on your way to the summit of Mount Massive. And the views from the top… worth every step.

Quick Info: Backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes + Mount Massive Peak

Permits: No permit required

Difficulty: Strenuous

Elevation Gain: Approximately 3,900 feet

Total Distance: 15.4 miles

Directions: From Leadville, follow US-24 E for 3.3 miles then turn right onto CO-300 W. After 0.8 miles, turn left onto Halfmoon Road and continue for 1.3 miles. Turn right to stay on Halfmoon Road and after 8 miles, the North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead will be on the right.

Itinerary Breakdown:

Day 1: Hiked to North Halfmoon Lake, set up camp and explored all three of the North Halfmoon Lakes — about 7.3 miles

• Parked along North Halfmoon Road to North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead: 0.8 miles
• North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead to Trail Junction: 1.3 miles
• Trail Junction to First North Halfmoon Lake: 1.6 miles
• First North Halfmoon Lake to Third North Halfmoon Lake (and back): 1.8 miles (3.6)

Day 2: Hiked from North Halfmoon Lake to Summit of Mount Massive — 8.1 miles

• North Halfmoon Lake to Trail Junction: 1.6 miles
• Trail Junction to Summit of Mount Massive: 2.2 miles
• Mount Massive Summit to Trail Junction: 2.2 miles
• Trail Junction to North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead: 1.3 miles
• Trailhead to Our Vehicle: 0.8 miles

Getting to North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead

From US-24 just south of Leadville, turn onto CO-300 W for 0.8 miles. Then turn left onto Halfmoon Creek Road and continue for 1.3 miles. Turn right to stay on Halfmoon Creek Road as you’ll notice lots of dispersed camping, three designated campgrounds, day use area for Emerald Lake and after about 5.3 miles is the trailhead for Mount Massive. Continue past this trailhead for 2 miles. These two miles are a bit rough but manageable and there are numerous pullouts and camp spots along the way. The trailhead is another 0.5 mile on a steeper, rougher road that requires good clearance and possibly 4WD.

We parked about 0.8 miles from the trailhead and walked because we weren’t sure. There was one badly rutted section along the last half mile section but trucks seemed to handle it fine.

Camping Near North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead

There are three (pay) forest service campgrounds along Halfmoon Creek Road. But there are numerous dispersed camping options from first entering the national forest all the way to right across from the trailhead. There are spots that can fit any size rig within the first few miles on Halfmoon Creek Road. But as you get closer to the trailhead and the road gets rougher, there are some great tent sites along Halfmoon Creek.

Our Experience Backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes + Mount Massive Peak

Day One

Since we were only planning on making it to North Halfmoon Lakes for the day, we didn’t rush to get an early start. We left our camp spot on Halfmoon Creek Road around noon. The dirt road that passes the campgrounds and trailheads had quite a few potholes but nothing a car couldn’t manage. We noticed how busy the Mount Elbert and Massive trailheads were! After passing the Mount Massive trailhead, the road got a bit rougher and narrowed down to a one lane road. We bumped along another mile or so before finding a spot to turn off and park. The trail report that we had read mentioned that the last half mile got significantly rougher so we didn’t want to risk it.

So we walked about 0.8 miles from where we parked to get to the actual North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead. Along this section of the dirt road, there was definitely one area with deep ruts that looked pretty rough. High clearance and 4WD is probably your best bet for this section. Luckily there was plenty of parking and pull offs along the way.

Hiking from Trailhead to Camp

After walking that last 0.8 miles of the dirt road, we finally made it to the actual trailhead! We couldn’t wait to finally begin backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes. The trail begins through the woods, entering Mount Massive Wilderness. Then after some gradual climbing, the surroundings open up and we started getting glimpses of the peaks around us! It was cool thinking that tomorrow we were going to be higher than all of them but one!

About 1.3 miles into backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes, we made it to the trail junction that we’ll take tomorrow to the top of Mount Massive. From there, the trail was very pretty. It ascended some rocks, meadows and some more woods revealing more and more beauty as we went. The trail was pretty steep in some sections!

We continued to climb and made our way up out of the valley and into the cirque that held the three North Halfmoon Lakes. There were several waterfalls up ahead and beautiful towering mountains!

Hike it Later – Pin it Now!

Eventually, we passed a couple cairns on our left… and we continued straight on a well defined but pretty overgrown trail. After struggling through the bushes, we realized that we were supposed to turn at the cairns. So we headed back down and made that turn. (After our adventure later to the other two lakes, we realized that trail may have led us up to the third lake. But we didn’t take it so can’t say for certain.)

Once we took the turn at the huge, obvious cairns, we crossed the water and ventured just a bit further and then there it was! The first of the North Halfmoon Lakes! The color of the lake itself was gorgeous. And it was completely surrounded by green grass that contrasted with both the lake and the surrounding mountains so well! It felt so exciting to be here!

There were a few campsites that were really well protected from the wind. And since we had the whole area to ourselves, we chose our favorite one and got set up. When we decided on backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes, we never dreamed we would have all three lakes to ourselves! What a treat. After some lunch and a quick nap, we headed out to see the other two lakes.

Exploring the Second and Third North Halfmoon Lakes

We followed the trail around the lakeshore, got some water out of the waterfall and followed a faint trail as it climbed up and over the next bench. And then there it was – the second of North Halfmoon Lakes! It too was stunning! The color of the water was beautiful and it was nestled into the cirque.

As we walked along the lakes edge, we saw that there was a perfect rock for jumping off into the much deeper water… So even though it was already in the shade, you guessed it, Shane dove in! I was cold just standing there in my hoodie!

We followed the shore a bit more until we noticed that there was still sun in the distance. So we set off in that direction. There was not a defined trail as we climbed up to a rocky ridge. The views were incredible, in every direction.

We continued to climb and along the way we began to notice cairns here and there. Not sure that we were going to find the third lake, we thought to follow the water up and see what we found. The “trail” was pretty steep and just simply beautiful the whole way. Once we got up, we found more wildflowers, some snow, and more incredible views.

Still Looking!

From there, we continued to see cairns. They didn’t seem necessary but were slightly reassuring. We followed the snowy rocky slope up even further.

We climbed up more and more rocks! And the rocks started getting bigger and bigger. Then we caught our first glimpse of the third North Halfmoon Lakes! We were so stoked that we found it! The water was crystal clear and surrounded by rocks all around. It felt pristine and wild.

Somehow, we forgot to bring any snacks along on our adventure so all of a sudden, getting back to camp felt more like a necessity. I don’t like being hungry.. So after skipping some rocks and taking in the gorgeous scenery, we made our way back down to camp. And immediately had dinner and a bunch of cookies.

Backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes made for an incredibly fun and scenic adventure! And we couldn’t have asked for better conditions all around. Always feels so right, just the two of us out there playing in the wilderness. The stars were also incredible and we were lucky enough to spot a few shooting across the sky.

Day 2

The morning of day two backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes, we ate our breakfast overlooking the gorgeous lake. Then we packed up and made the (rather steep) descent to the Mount Massive trail junction. We went a bit further to drop our packs off behind a boulder and turned one of our packs into a day bag. And from there, we followed the trail junction towards the summit!

Of course, the trail was instantly steep! But we were really impressed with the trail construction and there was never any route finding necessary. Once we climbed above the treeline, we stair-mastered the rocks and felt our hearts pumping already! The peaks around us started to be more apparent as we got closer and closer to matching their heights.

Not too much to say for the next couple miles except for up and up we went. There were numerous switchbacks and quite a few people making their way back down. We stopped here and there just to calm our beating hearts and to appreciate the everchanging views!

As we were climbing, pika were squeaking at us and marmots were keeping their eyes on us too! The marmots were so adorable – some were golden brown and some were more of a dark chocolate color. Some were chubby and slow while some were thinner and quick. They were a great distraction from the burning in my legs haha. Then we spotted a family of four Rocky Mountain goats! We had been seeing their fur stuck in the bushes almost the entire way up. It was our first time seeing them in Colorado! Pretty neat.

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We finally rounded a corner and spotted the three North Halfmoon Lakes that we explored yesterday down below! And we could also see Leadville, Twin Lakes and Turquoise Lakes.

After even more up, we reached the intersection with the Main Mount Massive Trail. From here, the route was less defined but we followed the rocks up and met back up with the defined trail. There’s a small “false peak” but just a short distance further, we made it to the top of Mount Massive! It felt like such an accomplishment – the highest we’ve been in about 7 years! We were so happy to have made it! And the views were different… there’s only one mountain in the distance higher than where we were. Pretty cooool 🙂

Then it struck us – we had the whole peak to ourselves! Or so we thought. This chubby guy had his eye on us the whole time we devoured our lunch! Adorable. We hung out at the top for awhile, taking in the views and avoiding the steep hike down as long as we could. We always find that going up may be tough but coming back down is just as tough (or tougher) in it’s own way!

A Wild Descent

After a few more pictures and soaking it all in, we headed back the way we came. From way up here, we noticed that there were no more people coming up the trail at all! But the whole way down we had company. There were so many marmots it was unbelievable! They really made the way down much more enjoyable. Laughing as they looked down at us from on top of the rock or the way their chubby bodies moved as they ran. And the pika joined in on the fun too. It was a heartwarming experience being surrounded by such cute wildlife and beautiful scenery all around.

But it was also distracting. I had to spend all of the rest of my time looking straight down at my feet so I could choose my footing wisely. Some spots were pretty loose and slippery. At one point, I was looking down at my feet so intently that Shane informed me that I was walking up on the family of Rocky Mountain goats from earlier! The babies were right there! So we stopped and gave them space as they followed their parents away from us – slowly and of course they walked on the trail that we were also hoping to walk on. It was a good excuse for a break and it was a treat to watch them up close.

After a beautiful descent among adorable wildlife, we finally made it back to our pack that we left behind. We threw our heavy packs back on and made the final two mile hike back to our vehicle.

Thanks for Reading!

Backpacking to North Halfmoon Lakes was a gorgeous adventure! And being able to add on hiking to the peak of the second highest mountain in Colorado was not only breathtaking (literally at times) but also felt like quite an accomplishment!

If you’d like to read about some more of our adventures, check out the articles below:

• Exploring Ding and Dang Canyons
• West Clear Creek Trail
• Hiking Amboy Crater Trail

As we travel and adventure, we also create hand painted longboards! If you’d like to see our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop! We also design and screen print our own shirts.

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