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If I had to describe this trail in one word it would be “stunner”. The views are absolutely breathtaking no matter which way you’re looking. And the park service knows it too - they’ve installed benches throughout this hike so you can sit and soak in the sheer beauty surrounding you. Read on for our top three reasons to check out this trail (besides the views) next time you are in the Dillon/Silverthorne area!
The proximity to town is top notch. I LOVE an amazing hike/snowshoe that you don’t have to go very far into the wilderness to find the trailhead. The trailhead can be found about 5 minutes from downtown Dillon. And what’s really cool is you don’t hear any “city noise” or traffic. So you are completely immersed in nature, but can be at a brewery within 5-10 minutes after to warm up.
Parking is free and there is plenty of it! AND it’s super easy to find as it’s located right off the main road. Extra bonus is that this parking lot is large enough to hold all sorts of vehicles - campers and RVs included.
You can watch people play on the lake for the majority of your hike. When we were there, we saw people ice fishing and also wind “surfing” on the ice surface! I’d never seen people wind surf on a frozen lake before and it was so fun to watch. I do think i’m going to have to try that out in the future as it looks like it would be a blast.
Bonus reason we loved this hike in winter? There is a huge sledding hill at the base of the trail and it was so fun watching kids (and parents) zoom down the hill on their sleds! So if you have one - bring it! Hidden sledding gem right here.
Winter tip: we did this trail when there had not been a recent snow storm and ended up just using microspikes instead of snowshoes as the trail was packed down enough to not need snowshoes. If you don’t have microspikes, snowshoes would still work great. You can also purchase some HERE. We love ours and highly recommend them!
To find this trail, go to alltrails.com and make sure you search in the Dillon/Silverthorne area. There is another Meadow Loop trail in Colorado closer to the Denver that is NOT this trail.
Happy Trails!
Liz
