Frying Pan Lakes Trail

Route Description for Frying Pan Lakes Trail

We love the Frying Pan Lakes Trail, and we think you might too. Exhibiting the diversity of the area’s flora and fauna, this trek will guide you through luxuriant meadows dotted with wildflowers, through dense evergreen woodlands, and along rocky ridges. This deep backcountry adventure also presents the ideal opportunity to wander amongst bears, moose, deer and marmots. If you are nervous about an unwelcomed encounter with wildlife, consider wearing a bear bell! Note this path is subject to blowdowns, so you may have to navigate sections of treefall.

Lace-up your hiking boots and head out on the Frying Pan Lakes Trail from the trailhead at the end of Nast Tunnel Diversion Road. From here, track southeast along the Frying Pan Lakes Trail. The craggy walls will hug you as you travel through the river valley. Enjoy the ambient sounds of the running waters and keep an eye out for wildlife. As you climb, the trail will become increasingly exposed as you near the mountain cirque. Revel in the grandeur of the looming peaks and when you get to the lakes, rejuvenate your feet in the frigid waters.

Notice Mount Massive in the southeast and Deer Mountain and Mount Oklahoma in the south. Appreciate the grandeur of the wilderness, and when you are done reveling in the scenery of the shimmering lakes, backtrack along the path to the trailhead.