Guanella Pass (closed in winters) is a beautiful scenic drive in the mountains between Georgetown and Grant, Colorado. There are multiple hiking trails with beautiful lakes. It’s one of my favorite areas not too far from Denver. The drive from Denver to a couple of the trails I’ll talk about here is about an hour and 15 minutes (55 miles), reaching the start of Guanella Pass in Georgetown after 45 miles. The area is an absolute must with the views along the byway and the beautiful trails. Even without completing the entirety of the trails, (if kids aren’t able to), the views going in just a short distance are beautiful. The trails I ended up doing were the Silver Dollar Lake Trail and the Bierstadt Trail.

I had done Silver Dollar Lake in the summer of 2017, back when my oldest son was about 9-months old. I carried him in a Baby Bjourn carrier, which wasn’t too bad. The total trail length for Silver Dollar Lake is 4.2 miles out-and-back with about an 1100-foot elevation gain. A short hike in from the trailhead you reach Naylor Lake, which was amazing. I would have loved to sit and enjoy the views longer if the insects weren’t so bothersome. Continuing on the trail you then reach Silver Dollar Lake, which we didn’t get to, and then Murry Dam. We didn’t hike the entire trail and went less than a mile in, but the whole trail was beautiful and I feel comfortable recommending you do the entire hike as you’re rewarded with more than just one lake!

As beautiful as the trail was however, there were so many bugs and mosquitoes on the trail that I hadn’t anticipated and wasn’t prepared with bug spray. So, make sure to take that with you as I’m sure there will be plenty of insects as long as the weather is warm. Partly why we didn’t manage to do much of the trail is that the road leading to the trailhead (Naylor Lake Road) was a dirt road and was pretty rugged with large ruts so, we parked in the lot on Guanella Pass Road. That added an extra mile each way to the hike. It’s possible to reach the trailhead, but you would probably want to only drive it with a 4WD and high-clearance vehicle. If you’re like us and don’t have the right vehicle to get closer to the trailhead, even just making it to Naylor Lake was enjoyable.

The other trail I really enjoy along Guanella Pass is the Bierstadt Trail, which is just a 10-minute drive from Silver Dollar. I’ve gone to that one a couple of times because I just find it so beautiful. Again, even without hiking the entire trail and just going in a bit of the way, you’ll still find rewarding views. The view from even just the parking lot is amazing, but I like to walk in more with all the green nature around. Right across from the Bierstadt parking lot is the lot and trailhead for Square Top Lakes, which is on my list to do.

The weather both visits in the summer was nice though, one summer, the smoke from the nearby fires was a bit strong that we didn’t end up staying too long. I still enjoyed the trip and short hike anyway. The kids enjoyed it as well. Both visits to Bierstadt were with both of my boys, once when they were 3 and 1 and the other time when they were 5 and 3. The complete trail for Bierstadt is about 7 miles out-and-back with about a 2700-foot elevation gain. The max we did each time was 1 mile in and 1 mile back out. Very simple for kids to do as the elevation gain begins further in. This trail is definitely a spot I would visit again for the nice views.

Up Next – Estes Park