Fishing · Rawah Wilderness
Twin Crater Lakes
A pair of alpine cirque lakes deep in the Rawah Wilderness — cutthroat and brook trout, earned by a long hike.
Toggle USGS Topo / Terrain / Satellite / Street (top-right) · red = special-regulation water, confirm current rules · waters © CPW Colorado Fishing Atlas
Twin Crater Lakes are a matched pair of alpine lakes set high in a cirque in the Rawah Wilderness, above 11,000 feet beneath the peaks. This is deep backcountry — the shortest way in runs about 14 miles round-trip from the West Branch trailhead — so you earn every cast. The payoff is solitude, big-mountain views, wildflower meadows, and a good chance of moose along the way.
The fishing is the classic high-country reward: brook and cutthroat trout, with greenback cutthroat in the lower lake. It is a place for anglers who like their fishing wild and hard-won. Mind the wilderness rules — no camping or fires within 200 feet of water or trail, and no wood fires above 10,800 feet in the Rawah alpine closure area.
The Water
Elevation
11,052 ft
Fish
Cutthroat & brook trout
Access
~14 mi round-trip hike
Setting
Rawah Wilderness cirque
Good to Know
- A valid Colorado fishing license is required — confirm the current regulations before you go.
- Deep wilderness: roughly a 14-mile round-trip from the West Branch trailhead, above 11,000 feet. Come prepared and check snow and conditions.
- Wilderness rules apply: no camping or fires within 200 feet of water or trail, and no wood fires above 10,800 feet in the Rawah alpine closure area.
- Prime moose country — give them plenty of room.
What’s Biting & What’s Stocked
The current stocking, the species, ice conditions, and the full Northwest Larimer fishing atlas — refreshed weekly — live in the app.
Coming soon — Larimer Wilds Fishing: offline maps, live GPS, and what’s stocked for every water up here, right in your pocket.
Built by Many Hands — Give a Little Back
Love this guide? Wear it. Every hat, tee, and cozy layer in our Red Feather Lakes collection helps us keep mapping the water and keeping this guide free — mountain apparel designed right here in the high country.
Shop the Collection →This fishery doesn’t sustain itself. Every trout is stocked and every acre stewarded by the public agencies we lean on for this guide — if you love these waters, please pitch in for them too:
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife — the stocking, the fishery & the Colorado Fishing Atlas Donate →
- Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest (USFS) — the public land & lakes themselves Support →
- OpenStreetMap contributors — the Street basemap Donate →
- Google & USGS — location, ratings & topographic maps
Fishing details compiled by the Red Feather Lakes Travel Guide from the sources above. Photography by us — more of our own water images coming as we fish them.