We are lucky to have so many beautiful places to hike in Colorado, it’s easy to forget how incredible the scenery is in the Holy Cross Wilderness. This hike will remind you. However, you will be hiking an extreme Jeep road most of the way to this lake.
The trail/road to Holy Cross City (on the way to Cleveland Lake) is known by off-road drivers for its obstacles, rocks and steep terrain. It’s so tough, there are signs that warn drivers, “Vehicle body/mechanical damage likely” and “Vehicle recovery will be costly.” We even found hooks bolted into the rocks for off-road drivers to attach a wrench. Yes, the road is THAT steep and rocky at times. AllTrails warns that the road gets to 23% grade at times.
At the top of the road, near the turn off for the Hunky Dory Lake Trail, there’s another sign for off-road drivers that says, “Do not stage vehicles in the water” and after three tries, “If unsuccessful, drive or tow your vehicle from the water.” You’ll be hiking through this area so your feet might get wet.
Continue hiking up the road, until you see mining ruins. You’ll get a better view a little further up the road, above the ruins and tailing piles.
You’ll know when you’ve arrived at Holy Cross City because there’s a long fence and a sign. The sign explains that the town site is more than 130 years old.
The Eagle County Historical Society says there once were 25 buildings in the camp including a boarding house, post office, two general stores, assay office, blacksmith shop, a drug store, and several saloons.
There are still two cabins and a foundation at Holy Cross City. While the cabins are still standing, there are gaping holes in the roof and the side.
The first cabin has one large open room and maybe a loft. The second cabin has bunk beds and a table. Imagine living up here at 11,500 feet. Winters were brutal and summers were short. You likely would’ve worked at one of the nearby mines.
Walk past the second cabin, turn around and look up the hillside. You might spot two more cabins and two old gondola cars. You’ll get a closer view later.
After exploring, continue hiking up the road. You’ve got about another mile to the lake.
The main road continues uphill a short distance then splits. You’ll want to turn right onto Cleveland Lake Road. Having the map downloaded from AllTrails or COTREX will help.
The road goes up through some tailing piles and there’s a turn off for those upper cabins. While we wanted to go up there and check it, we assumed it was private property, so we did not.
Cleveland Lake Road is another Jeep road with several steep obstacles. They can be a bit hard to hike up, so you can imagine how hard it is to drive. Here we spotted at least three different bolted rings for drivers to use with their wenches.
About 0.6 miles from Holy Cross City, the Jeep road ends at more tailing piles. Soon, you’ll see a sign for Cleveland Lake. Look to your right, you’ll also see an old mine that is now covered in metal to keep people and animals out.
A short distance from here, you’ll start slightly downhill and see the sign for the Holy Cross Wilderness. This is a great place to take in the view of this large, beautiful cirque.
There’s still a quarter mile or so of hiking through some wetlands on a trail that comes and goes until you’ll spot Cleveland Lake. The map is helpful here, because you’ll likely be wondering just where the lake is.
Cleveland Lake is a large lake with a rocky island. We even saw the fish jumping. This is a great place to relax, enjoy lunch and maybe explore the shoreline.
Details: From Homestake Road, park at the Holy Cross Road trailhead. From here, the hike is about 9.5 miles with about 2,500 feet of gain.
Notes: Other great hikes in this area are Missouri Lakes, the loop of Missouri Lakes and Fancy Lake, Brady Lake, Sopris Lake, the Seven Sisters Lakes and Fall Creek Pass.
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.
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