Hessie Trailhead

Open spaces lots of trails

Elopement Photographer here!nnThe Hessie Trailhead is a great spot for small elopements, or portrait sessions! The fir trees are incredible, and there are definitely some hidden gems that feature beautiful overlooks, rocky riverbeds (frozen in Winter months), a couple of small bridges, and of course, the views of Lost Lake.nnI highly recommend snowshoeing in the winter, as the area is just beautiful and covered with snow, and isn't a highly trafficked area. We probably only passed about 4-5 couples our entire time out. The summer is also equally beautiful, as you get warmer photos, as well as the greenery and wildflowers in some areas in full-effect.nnIf you're coming in the winter it's definitely best to have 4WD or AWD, but in the summer any high clearance vehicle should get you there without any problems at all.

Nice trail! Snowshoed it a few times. A little tough to park, especially if the road is snowy or slick. Other than that, beautiful, quick hike!

Wow, amazing hike!! This is definitely one of my favorite hikes in Colorado so far, as the views were spectacular all along the way. We were barely about five minutes into the hike when there was a lake that perfectly reflected the mountains, and the views of the snowy mountains, grassy fields, and trees were breathtaking all along the trail. I absolutely adored this hike, even though the end getting up to Devils Thumb was challenging and steep. We also had to climb up a snow wall, but thankfully others had set the path already and there were footprints. It's not clear at the top that it's Devil's Thumb, but I guess we knew because it looked like the top and the path started going down afterward. The path down around the Continental Divide was a bit boring though as it was just walking through the field at the back of the mountain, and we got caught in hail for a quick minute which caused coldness. But, the sun eventually peaked back out a bit even though the rest of our hike was mostly cloudy afterward. We had to hike through some snow patches but nothing too bad, and we saw some skiers and snowboarders carry their gear to do some downhill, wow! In any case, the trail post-peak was also really pretty as we walked by a stream, trees, and were still surrounded by mountain views. Amazing hike! Signage in general was acceptable although we did have the reference a picture of the map we took at the beginning of the trailhead. It took us about 8 hours to complete the hike, and it was a great one!

Hessie Trailhead is only accessible by high clearance 4x4 vehicles but there is street parking available a 1/2 mile before the trailhead for us lowriders. This only adds an extra half mile to your hike, no matter which trail you are exploring.nnI hiked to Lost lake on this trip. The lake was a solid sheet of ice in early December. There were many footprints leading to the center of the lake. The views from the lake and throughout the hike are awesome!nnIt is a 2.5 mile hike to the lake from where most people will park (1/2 before Hessie Trailhead) making it a 5 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of around 900 ft. The trail is very easy to follow as there are signs throughout. The terrain is Rocky but should be manageable for most skill levels. I would rate the trail somewhere between 'easy' and 'medium' difficulty. There is also a trail that will take you around the lake but from what I can tell, it is not a connecting loop trail.nnThere are longer, much more strenuous lake and summit trails that can be explored from Hessie Trailhead. 90% of the trail is either ice or snow. Make sure to bring your shoe spikes and bear spray. There were very few people on the trail, making it a very peaceful hike. I would highly recommend this one.