Natascha’s dad (Karl), brother (Alex), and I chose to #OptOutside this weekend by hiking to Ouzel Lake in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. The Wild Basin trailhead is located about 2 miles into the park from the Wild Basin Entrance Station, just past Allenspark, CO. There is no parking at the trailhead in the winter, so we parked at the winter recreation parking lot and walked down the road about a mile to the trailhead. The Ouzel Lake Trail is about 10 miles round trip, so with the walk from the parking lot, our hike was ~12 miles round trip.

Karl at the Trailhead Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park (nps.gov) Ouzel Lake Trail Topographical Map (from All Trails)

This is an easy hike, with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain over 5 miles. The trail starts at about 8,500 feet and climbs to just over 10,000. The first few miles of the trail wind through the forest, with occasional views of Longs Peak. There was a light dusting of snow and some ice in places along the first few miles of the trail. Crampons weren’t necessary, but might have been useful in places.

The first gem of the hike is Ouzel Falls, a beautiful 40-foot waterfall.

Ouzel Falls Ouzel Falls Through the Trees

Soon after passing Ouzel Falls, the trail climbs above the trees and winds along a ridge. From there, we saw stunning views of Wild Basin and the Rocky Mountains.

Valley View From the Ridge Mountain View From the Ridge Wild Basin

At the end of the ridge, the trail curves toward Ouzel Creek. At this point, about 6″ of snow covered the ground, and we ended up losing the trail. Because we couldn’t see the lake from where we were, we decided to hike toward Ouzel Creek and then follow the creek up to the lake. Luckily, while hiking toward the creek, we found the trail again.

We reached Ouzel Lake minutes before the sun ducked behind a peak. Perfect timing! The lake was covered in ice and you could hear air bubbles hitting the ice from below and occasionally breaking through. Such a gorgeous place. We quickly posed for some pictures before the sun disappeared, ate a snack, and started our return journey.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNUlwj6gpHF/

This was a great hike, one I would certainly do again. It would be fun to continue on to Bluebird Lake in the summertime.

As we were exiting Rocky Mountain National Park, I saw what were either big horses or moose, and had Alex turn the car around for a second look. Alex and Karl were really hoping they were horses, because they never would have let me live it down if they were. Luckily for me, they were moose, and we managed to capture some (horrible) photos from the highway.

Rocky Mountain National Park Moose Rocky Mountain National Park Moose