West Lake–Haul Road, 4 sights is a 12.2-mile out-and-back near Wheeler Junction, CO. The route reaches West Lake. It climbs 3,283 ft, with sections as steep as 26% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 35/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi9,695 – 12,560 ft · steepest grade: 26%12.7 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Haul Road 39.50005, -106.15531
Nearest town Wheeler Junction, CO
Directions
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West Lake–Haul Road, 4 sights
12.2 mi · ▲ 3,283 ft · 5 hr 42 min
Elevation 9,696–12,561 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: Haul Road · 39.50005, -106.15531
Weather Sep 4: Overcast, high 70°F / low 44° · precip 10% · wind 7 mph · sunrise 6:37 AM · sunset 7:33 PM
Transit-accessible: Passage Point stop 315 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Haul Road, heading SE.
- 50 ftPass West Lake.
- 0.3 miBear left, heading N.
- 0.1 miContinue straight onto Copper Shuttle, heading E.
- 350 ftBear left, heading NE.
- 0.3 miBear right onto Sky Chutes Lane, heading NE.
- 150 ftTurn left onto Tenmile Recpath, heading NE.
- 0.1 miBear left, heading NE.
- 450 ftTurn right onto Fremont Pass Recreational Pathway, heading N.
- 0.6 miContinue straight onto Wheeler Trail, heading SE.
- 4.2 miTurn right onto Peak Nine Road, heading E.
- 0.3 miReach West Lake, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Wheeler Trail, heading N.
- 0.8 miBear left, heading NW.
- 3.4 miContinue straight onto Fremont Pass Recreational Pathway, heading NW.
- 0.6 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 400 ftBear right onto Tenmile Recpath, heading NW.
- 0.1 miTurn right onto Sky Chutes Lane, heading N.
- 150 ftBear left, heading N.
- 0.3 miBear right onto Copper Shuttle, heading SW.
- 0.2 miBear right onto Haul Road, heading W.
- 0.2 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
72% dirt22% paved6% unspecified
Weather
OvercastTemperature 70°F44°
Precip10%Wind7 mphUV8Humidity31%
Rained 0.1″ 5 days ago
Hourly temperature
70°40°
Sunrise 6:37 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:33 PM
Sat
71°47°
Sun
76°50°
28%
Mon
65°49°
40%
Tue
72°46°
19%
Wed
74°48°
39%
Thu
74°50°
44%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 4.7 mi in (~183 min). Leave by 4:10 PM for the 7:33 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:42 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: Passage Point stop 315 m from the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Haul Road Trailhead
- Curtain Ponds–West Lake, 3 lakes 3.1 mi · ▲ 196 ft
- West Lake–Copper Mountain Road Loop, 6 sights 3.6 mi · ▲ 818 ft
- West Lake–Copper Mt.-Mckenzie Gulch Road, 5 sights 4.5 mi · ▲ 996 ft
- West Lake–2 Bucks Loop, 7 sights 5.6 mi · ▲ 1,276 ft
- Peak 8–West Lake, 5 sights 15.9 mi · ▲ 6,038 ft
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