St. Mary's Glacier, An Easter Hike

It is no secret that the mountains in Colorado have been getting hit with some good snow lately and we, like the rest of the state’s population, wanted to take advantage of it. Since all of our family is back east, and we didn't feel like spending money on a lift ticket (we don't have a season pass for this year), we figured a hike would be a fun way to spend Easter. So, we strapped our yaktrak’s (purchased the day after our failed attempt to hike to the royal arch) on to our hiking boots and off we went to St. Mary’s Glacier. 

Our goal was to hike to St. Mary’s lake and then up to the top of the glacier, however to hike up the glacier snowshoes were a must and sadly our yaktrak’s would not get the job done. They did successfully get us a little less than half way up the glacier, so we can’t complain too much! Because of the cold weather, we were able to walk on the lake. I have never walked on a frozen lake before so it was slightly terrifying but incredible at the same time. I will say if you are considering hiking just to the lake, do it - the views were absolutely breathtaking. 

For those of you unfamiliar with St. Mary’s Glacier, it is located in Idaho Springs about an hour outside of the city. The hike to the top of the glacier is close to two miles, while the hike to the lake and back is about a mile. Though the hike itself is not too difficult, I certainly felt the elevation since the hike starts around 10,300 feet and only goes up from there. You can find snow above the lake year-round and considering the recent snow storm we were not surprised to come across some boarders and skiers hiking to the top. 

As expected my pup was a trooper and plowed through the snow without any hesitation. He also learned that if he ate the snow it would be just as satisfying as drinking water, so instead of waiting for me to fill his portable bowl he ate the snow as he hiked along (his choice, not mine). A few fellow hikers we came across warned us that he may have a problem with the wind the higher up we went because he is small, but we plowed on without any issues. My pup does not let his size stop him! We kept having to tell him to come back on the designated trail because he seemed to have more fun jumping around in the deeper snow off the trail. 

When we hit our stopping point on the way up the glacier the wind had increased. Though my pup could care less, being the nervous nelly that I am, I was a bit scared he would blow away…he didn’t, obviously, but the wind was certainly aggressive up there. At one point I thought the wind was going to knock me over and proceeded to yell for my boyfriend. Needless to say nothing went wrong, no one fell, and I should probably stop being so dramatic. 

We definitely want to revisit this hike in the summer and check out the views from the top of the glacier. You can check out more pictures from our hike here.

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From Denver, With Love