Mt Ida - 9.6 Miles Round-Trip

Mt Ida (12,889') is located 4.8 miles from Poudre Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s arguably one of the Park’s finest alpine treks, but receives little attention because the trail does not appear on most maps, and the trailhead itself makes no mention of Mt Ida as a destination.

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Despite its classification as a cross-country route, the Mt Ida Trail is in fact well-defined (save the final approach), and quite moderate by Rocky Mountain standards.

Note that trail signs suggest the summit is only 4.0 miles, a small but significant discrepancy at these elevations. Plan travel time accordingly.

3.6 miles of the trail run through open tundra - get an early start to avoid thunderstorms that reliably develop each afternoon throughout the summer. The last 1.3 miles are not well defined, but follow cairns and an intuitive route up to the summit.

Visitors will enjoy spectacular landscapes that include expansive tundra flats and panoramic views across the Never Summer Range, Gorge Lakes and lightly traveled interior mountains:

The trail begins on the south edge of Poudre Lake, where you’ll find signs for Milner Pass and Mt Ida a few steps from the trailhead on the lakeshore. It turns sharply uphill and winds through a pretty subalpine forest to the Milner Pass – Mt Ida Trail split (.6 miles : 11,072’).

The Mt Ida Trail turns south and climbs steadily before moderating through the vestiges of treeline (1.2 miles : 11,392’). Here you’ll have stunning views across the Never Summer Range, and south along the Divide. Look for bighorn sheep and elk, which frequent these high slopes.

The trail heads S-SE just west of and below the Divide on a variously mild and moderate grade. Though very clear, be mindful of equally well-defined game trails that follow a similar route.

The trail undulates to a cairn-marked fork on the edge of an expansive flat (2.8 miles : 12,140’) - bear right. It dips across the flat to a saddle on the Divide (3.4 miles : 12,015’), which overlooks a pretty alpine meadow down the east side (GPS Point #10). 

Though seemingly accessible, snow cornices make the tempting drop-in only for the skilled and equipped. The trail reaches the far side of the saddle, where it begins to fade in decidedly rockier terrain (3.5 miles :12,037’).

Here you’ll begin the 1.3 mile cross-country portion of the hike, which follows cairns and a decent boot track on an arcing push to the summit.

It’s difficult to pick out every cairn in this indistinguishable terrain, but obvious where you must go - up. Tread lightly on delicate grasses and step on rock whenever possible.

Mt Ida (4.8 miles : 12,889’) is just a small rocky nub atop the Continental Divide, but optimally located with exceptional views of the Never Summer Range (west), and Gorge Lakes basin (east).

Maneuver about the summit for views of Highest Lake, Azure Lake, Inkwell Lake, Arrowhead Lake and their glacial benefactors. These lakes form the headwaters of a major tributary to the Big Thompson River, which cuts through Forest Canyon below.

It’s possible to drop into this idyllic basin, but requires significant route finding and athleticism.

A razor-thin saddle connects Ida with neighboring Chief Cheley Peak (12,504’), which joins Cracktop (12,766’), Mount Julian (12,928’) and Terra Tomah Mountain (12,718’) to form the massive Gorge Lakes cirque. Julian Lake is also visible in an adjacent cirque to the southwest.