Lake Isabelle (WINTER)

The beautiful Lake Isabelle is located a mere 2.1 miles from Long Lake Trailhead in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area of the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It lies at treeline in a stunning alpine valley framed by Navajo (13,409'), Apache (13,441') and Shoshoni (12,967') peaks. In the summer, it is a popular short hike to a nice lunch spot. In the winter, the snow and the 5.6 miles (2.8 up, 2.8 down) of road-hiking between the winter parking lot and the Long Lake Trailhead make Lake Isabelle a quiet place and a great destination for a snowshoe outing.

I had first visited Lake Isabelle in late June 2022 with my parents, who were visiting me from British Columbia, Canada. We enjoyed a nice snack break at the lake before hiking a path along the lake's northern shore into the basin above the lake. Later the same summer, I again passed by the shores of Lake Isabelle on a solo scramble of Navajo Peak. I made a note to return to Lake Isabelle in the winter, and walk over its frozen surface surrounded by snow-encased summits of the Indian Peaks Wilderness. In January 2023, I snatched a bluebird Sunday to do a solo snowshoe up to Lake Isabelle.

My round trip time from the winter parking lot to Lake Isabelle was 5 hours and 50 minutes, which includes a 30 minute lunch break at Lake Isabelle. I had the lake to myself and the weather was glorious. This is a popular area, so I enjoy arriving early and having the place to myself for most of the day (I was the first to arrive at the parking lot at 6:30am, but when I got back to the parking area at 12:30pm, the lot was a zoo of people and cars were queued up waiting for spots to open up). 

Below is a sampling of photos from my day out. What a great snowshoe objective!

Some comparison photos from a hike with my parents in June 2022, when they were visiting me from British Columbia, Canada.

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