Turquoise Lake
Just West of Leadville is Turquoise Lake and the 15 mile paved road is great for riding. You would think riding along a lake should be fairly flat, but there is nothing flat on this ride. The Southern side will have good views of the lake while the Northern portion goes up into the woods with some lookouts along the way.
Feel free to ride from town to the lake as well to add on some miles or duck off on Hagerman road (gravel) to do a little more climbing on the Southern side. I’ll see you out there.
Cool Off Afterwards
Yes - the water may be freezing and pure ice runoff, but ice those legs after a ride! There are several access points to get down to the lake. The Dam is always popular, but I recommend going to the Abe Lee fishing site and parking along the road and walking down to the Lake. There are also day use areas for a fee within the camping locations on the East side.
Route Status
Updated 5/14
Turquoise Lake road is clear around the lake and sunny days ahead to keep it that way. The trails around the lake (East and North side) are still going to be covered in snow)