Lost Lake Trail

Some lakes you have to earn twice. Lost Lake is one of them — you first walk 5.6 miles up the Rawah Trail (North) just to reach its trailhead, and only then does this little spur peel off to the northwest and start climbing. It's a short push, under a mile, but it wastes no time: the tread tips up hard through a stand of lodgepole pine for the first quarter mile, then eases off and rolls past a big glassy pond and a pair of smaller ones tucked in the trees. Watch for the old axe blazes cut into the bark by Forest Service crews long ago — there are no rock cairns out here, so those weathered scars are your handrail.

The one honest challenge is the boggy stretch near the halfway mark, where the trail all but disappears and the water runs deeper than a boot in places — step carefully and take your time picking the line. Past it, the path drops the final quarter mile to the lake itself, a beautiful sheet of high water ringed with rock outcrops that beg to be sat on with a snack and no particular hurry. There's good water at the pond and the lake if you filter it, quiet camping back from the shore, and the deep hush of the Rawah high country all around you. Come ready for a full day — this is the far end of a long walk, and the same 5.6 miles waits to carry you home.

Trail Facts

Getting There

Lost Lake isn't a roadside trailhead — it's reached on foot, deep in the Rawah Wilderness. Drive up the Laramie River Road (open only after the seasonal thaw, usually late June) to the Rawah trailhead, then hike 5.6 miles up the Rawah Trail (North). Where the Lost Lake Trail branches off to the northwest, your 0.9-mile climb begins. The Laramie River Road isn't plowed, so there is no winter access. Bring and filter your own water & plan for a long day out and back.

Know Before You Go

• It's a spur, not a trailhead. The hike starts 5.6 miles up the Rawah Trail (North) — budget for a long day and roughly 13 miles round-trip just to reach and return from the lake.
• Boggy middle. Near the half-mile mark the trail crosses a wet, hard-to-read bog where the water can be more than a foot deep — slow down, watch your footing, and expect wet boots.
• Follow the blazes. There are no rock cairns; navigation leans on faint old USFS axe blazes in the trees, so keep an eye on the bark when the tread gets thin.
• Wilderness rules. This is the Rawah Wilderness — no bikes, no wheeled conveyances, no motorized use, and group size is capped at 12 people and stock combined.
• Dogs on leash. Dogs must be on a hand-held leash with hikers (voice control if you're with stock).
• Water & camping. The large pond and Lost Lake are your best water sources (filter it); camp and light fires no closer than 200 feet from any water or the trail.
• Season & access. The Laramie River Road opens around late June and isn't plowed — there is no winter access to this trail.