Scarp Ridge has been on my hiking to do list for years. I heard about the wildflowers and the views, then I heard about the Blue Lake overlook and I was sold.
Scarp Ridge is above Lake Irwin, west of Crested Butte. The trailhead is about two miles up a rough, dirt road, just below the Old Lake Irwin Lodge that closed in 2002. On the way, you will pass cabins and even an old mining headframe. Irwin was a silver mining site in the 1880s, according to published reports.
The hike starts at 10,600 feet high and ends at more than 12,200 feet high, so expect steep terrain.
Drive up to the lodge to find a turnaround. Just below that are two parking areas with room for about 10 vehicles each. Hike back up to the turnaround and you should spot the sign for Trail 419. There’s no bathrooms and no other info or map, so I highly recommend downloading a route from AllTrails and/or COTREX before you go.
As you walk past the old lodge, you may notice several snow cats outside. You can learn more about the snowcat skiing on these websites here and here.
At 0.15 miles from the turnaround lot, there’s a bit of a trail split. Go left and stay on the old road. At 0.3 miles, you will exit the trees into a meadow with great views. At 0.4 miles, you’ll come to a cairn, a trail split and your big decision point for the day — hike the loop clockwise or counter clockwise? I chose clockwise, in case I decided to do an out-and-back hike to the Blue Lake overlook.
As you hike, you’ll likely see lots of wildflowers. In July 2026, there were sulfur buckwheat, Aspen fleabane, ohsa, alpine goldenaster (or maybe false goldenaster), monument plant, owlsclaw, lupine, cinquefoil, paintbrush, penstemon, golden rod and others. You may also notice the occasional hole in the ground or hillside from mining days.
The reddish mountains to the left, or west, also captured my attention on the way up. Especially seeing a trail in between them. From the overlook at the top, you’ll see a lake in between the peaks. However, Emerald Lake is on a private road, so you’ll have to enjoy the view from over here.
As you head uphill to Scarp Ridge, you need to know there are two false summits. The first you can see about 1.25 miles into the hike. At the top of the first one, you’ll get a view of the ridge above you.
The AllTrails loop hike has you turning east at 1.7 or so miles. However, if you want to see Blue Lake, you'll need to go west up to the rocky outcropping. There are even rock steps here. This is your second false summit. After the rocky section, there’s one more ridge and just under a quarter mile of hiking to get to the overlook/viewpoint.
At the top, there’s a wooden post, but the sign is gone. Up here at 12,300 elevation, you get to pick your view. There’s Blue Lake northwest. There’s Emerald Lake and the red mountains southwest. There’s Crested Butte Ski Resort to the east. There’s great views in every direction.
If you want to go farther, there are several options from up here, including a way to Blue Lake. However, most people head back down.
It’s about one-third of a mile from the overlook back to the loop trail. Here you can decide — do you want a 4-mile round trip hike? Then head back the way you came up. Or if you’re willing to do more, turn east on the loop trail for a few more views and a hike of 4.6 miles.
I decided to do the loop because it's not much longer. As you walk the ridge, the trail gets close to the edge, and you can look down to Mount Crested Butte in the distance. You’ll also pass a small communications tower.
You may notice this side of the trail is a bit overgrown at times. Maybe because more people do an out-and-back hike instead of the loop.
At 3.15 miles, there’s another viewpoint looking down into a pretty valley and out to Crested Butte. Then the loop trail heads downhill back to the parking lot.
On the east side of the loop, we found even more wildflowers including bistort, stonecrop, lupin, yarrow, ragwort, penstemon, chiming bells, arnica, fitweed and fields of aspen fleabane.
At 4.25, the loop ended back at a cairn at the trail split.
From here, it’s another 0.4 miles back to the lodge and the turnaround area.
As you walk the road back to your vehicle, look up on the hillside in front of you. There are several cabins partially hidden in the trees.
Details: The hike to the Blue Lake overlook and around the loop is about 4.6 miles with 1,500+ feet of elevation gain. Add more distance based on where you park.
Note: You may want a vehicle with some clearance for the rutted, dirt road to the trailhead. Some books suggest you can park just past the Lake Irwin dam. That adds a couple miles and a lot more elevation gain to the hike.
If you have any questions, or hike suggestions, email me at HikingDebbie@gmail.com and find more great hikes by following me on Facebook at Facebook.com/DenverHikingExaminer.