Turquoise Lakes - 14.4 Miles Round-Trip

The Turquoise Lakes are located 6.65 and 7.2 miles from Beaver Lake Trailhead in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The lakes form the headwaters of Beaver Creek, a major tributary of the Eagle River. Lower Turquoise Lake fills a large, level basin surrounded by rolling meadows, and Upper Turquoise Lake is located .6 miles and 210’ up in a secluded bowl just below the valley headwall.

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Lower Turquoise Lake features ideal camping and fishing terrain along its open perimeter. The upper lake is a relatively quick excursion to a more rugged but equally compelling setting.

Two trails access the Turquoise Lakes: the Beaver Lake Trail which begins in the Beaver Creek Ski Resort, and the West Grouse Creek Trail from Grouse Creek Trailhead on Highway 24.

The following description begins at Beaver Creek, preferable for long stretches of mild grades and pristine forests along the water (see Worth Noting below for important trailhead access and distance information):

The Beaver Lake Trail begins at the top of Village Road in the Beaver Creek Ski Resort. Scale a grassy knoll and merge onto a service road, which rises past several maintenance facilities and ski-runs. It passes connections for Allie’s Way and the Village-to-Village Trail up to a bridge over Beaver Creek (1.55 miles : 9,165’).

It keeps a steady pace through airy slopes to the Holy Cross Wilderness Boundary (2.4 miles : 9,660’), where it narrows on singletrack to the edge of Beaver Lake (2.6 miles : 9,746’).

The trail continues past Beaver Lake and moderates on a long, pleasant stretch highlighted by mild grades, braided streams, verdant ground cover and hanging moss. There’s little beetle-kill and minimal deadfall in this notably healthy spruce-fir forest.

Travel is quick up to a sturdy footbridge that crosses (west) over a cascading section of Beaver Creek (4.7 miles : 10,355’). It’s easy to miss, but a fading trail on the water’s edge will lead your eyes to it. Once over, the trail skirts the base of a talus slope and levels back into heavy forest.

It reaches a double-bridge crossing back to the east side of the creek at 5.45 miles (10,595’), past which it runs up the side of a long, open meadow. Take a few steps off-trail to scan for wildlife.

The trail shifts quickly and grows faint while transitioning through the subalpine. Thinning timber reveals expansive meadows on either side of Beaver Creek leading to the Grouse Mountain (West Grouse Creek) trail split (6.6 miles : 11,075’).

Here the trail temporarily disappears, but is intuitively followed through a marshy flat to the NE corner of Lower Turquoise Lake (6.65 miles : 11,095’).  The basin is broad and level with little distinction between the lake and terra firma in some places. The shoreline is obstacle free (save a few bands of willow), and easy to explore.

The Upper Turquoise Lake Trail is located across the outlet stream, a few steps past the Grouse Mt Trail split. A small log spans the creek but is fairly anonymous; to pick up the trail, simply cross the creek and it will soon appear. The trail leads around the lake across damp meadows and low rises with drier conditions for camping.

It curls SW and rises gently through pockets of spruce to the edge of Upper Turquoise Lake (7.2 miles : 11,308’). The lake is hemmed by the steep valley headwall and some rugged terrain, but easy enough to maneuver about. You’ll find secluded nooks to camp, but open space around the lower lake is arguably more conducive.