Ruby Jewel Trail

Ruby Jewel is the payoff at the end of a long approach: a 1.3-mile dirt footpath that leaves the top of the rough Ruby Jewel Road and climbs west into a high glacial cirque in the Medicine Bow Range. This is State Forest State Park country — wild, quiet, and a world away from the crowds on the Front Range — and the trail keeps its promise the whole way, gaining steadily through spruce and fir toward the granite headwall that cradles the lake. COTREX lists it as open to hikers, mountain bikes, and horses; leashed dogs are welcome too.

The trail ends at Ruby Jewel Lake, a small tarn sitting in the shadow of Clark Peak — at 12,951 feet the highest summit in the Medicine Bows — where snowfields can linger into midsummer and the water holds that cold, glassy alpine clarity. It's a real high-country destination, so come prepared for thin air, fast-changing weather, and afternoon thunderstorms, and check current road and trail conditions with State Forest State Park before you go. A Colorado State Parks pass is required to enter the park.

Trail Facts

Getting There

Ruby Jewel Lake sits in the northeast corner of State Forest State Park, off CO-14 west of Cameron Pass near Gould. From the park roads, follow the Ruby Jewel Road — a rough, high-clearance/4WD route — to its end; the footpath begins where the road quits. A Colorado State Parks pass is required. Confirm the road and trailhead on the map and check current conditions with the park before heading up.

Know Before You Go

• Open to hike, bike & horse. COTREX has it open to hikers, mountain bikes, and horses; motorcycles and ATVs are not allowed on the trail itself.
• Dogs on leash. Leashed dogs are welcome — keep them close in this high, wildlife-rich basin.
• State park rules apply. Ruby Jewel is inside State Forest State Park — a Colorado State Parks pass is required to enter, and it's managed by the park, not the Forest Service.
• High-country conditions. This is a glacial cirque below Clark Peak; snow can linger into summer and storms build fast — check current road and trail conditions with the park before you go.