The Oh Be Joyful To The Blue Lake Hike In Crested Butte, Colorado- The trail to the best hike in Crested Butte, Colorado. This is a great day hike if visiting Crested Butte, as the trailhead is close to town. It is also a great hike if staying at the Oh Be Joyful Campground Recreation Area or Lake Irwin Campground, taking you through Scarp Ridge as well. The Blue Lake hike can be completed as a day trip, as a through hike or an overnight adventure, here I will cover all the ways to get to the Blue Lake. This guide will also cover where to stay, what to bring, how long the hike is, how hard, which is the best route and much more.
There are a couple different ways to complete this hike. We hiked this as an out and back hike from the Oh Be Joyful Recreation Area. Some even hike here from the Lake Irwin area as a day hike and a few hike from to The Blue Lake as a through hike. I will speak of all the options in this article. First starting as the out and back day hike from the Oh Be Joyful Recreation Area.
Stats
Length: 13.2 miles round trip
Time: 6-8 hours
Difficulty: moderate to strenuous
Elevation: 8,960-ft. at Trailhead and 11,075-ft. at Blue Lake
Elevation Gain: 2,115 feet
Trailhead: Oh Be Joyful Recreation Area
Overview
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When To Go
We went in mid July and some parts of the this trail had minor snow coverings. Easy and short to cross over. But unless prepared with proper gear, plan for summer.
Where To Stay
We stayed at the Oh Be Joyful Campground. We wanted to stay here the night before and the evening after the hike, as we knew it would be a long one. This campground has trailer and tent spots. Large camper trailers will have a hard time getting up and down the road in. But small ones should be fine! This campground has drop toilets but nothing else, so make sure you bring your own water. Book sites here ahead of time as they go fast, check recreation.gov to pre-book your site.
If staying in a tent there are some walk-in sites near by at River Flats Campground.
The town of Crested Butte is only a 18 minutes drive to the trailhead. And a very cute mountain town.
How Hard Is The Hike?
This is also a high elevation gain hike. If you are not used to high elevation make sure to acclimate. This means spend a few days on smaller hikes or simply stay in the area to acclimate. We did this hike the seventh day in Colorado (from Ohio) so we felt pretty acclimated. At the Rocky Mountains National Park I did feel more tired on our first day. This lead to more breaks in the trail. Still doable but listen to your body and be prepared to turn around.
The Route
The Start
The trailhead is from the Oh Be Joyful Campground. So if you are driving in you will need to park in the guest parking lot. The parking lot will be across from the restrooms, these will be seen as soon as you pull in. I will warn you the road coming into the campground is not super well maintained, so be prepared to take it slow to avoid potholes and rocks.
A while ago the start had you crossing a river. Some hikers with off-road vehicles could cross the river and use a cleared area across the river to park. But you cannot do this anymore, the river is blocked by large rocks. But there is a newly built bridge now, so you won’t need to cross the river on foot or car. Use the bridge.
The trail will go up a rocky pathway slightly uphill. It seemed like this was used for off-road vehicles at one point. But now there are signs that they are not allowed here anymore. During this section of the trail you will pass a few waterfalls off to the left side.
The Valley
After the slight uphill climb you will find yourself walking into the valley of the Ruby Range mountains. The Schuylkill Mountain will be on your right and the Oh-Be-Joyful Peak on the left. This section of the hike is the longest and the easiest. The trail is very flat so it makes it very easy to enjoy the sweeping view all around. If going in July will most likely get to see all the wildflowers which makes this even more stunning.
Into The Woods
Next up, is a quick hike through the woods. Which if hiking on a sunny day this area might give you some shaded relief. Here you will weave in and out of the woods, sometimes crossing a few small streams. But nothing too deep or hard to get around.
The Climb Up
Soon will be the last and final climb up along this trail. It’s not too awful. First it will go gradually uphill through a vast opening. You can look up towards the mountain tops and see the waterfalls coming off from the lake. Turning around to see the mountain tops all through the Gunnison National Forest for miles.
During this section of the trail you will come across a split, connecting you to the Daisy Pass. At this split head left.
At this point of the trail I really had no clue where the lake really was or which direction it would be, it stays pretty hidden until you arrive right to it (In the picture below it is right below the snow caps on the top of the mountain, and right above the waterfalls).
The final climb is pretty steep, but there are a few switchbacks making the trail easy to maneuver. Sometimes lake hikes such as this one will have a final sketchy scramble to the top but the trail stays pretty clear and smooth the whole way up.
The Lake
Finally you are there! And it’s stunning! The lake really does live up to its name. Nestled right in front of the Afley Peak. There are a few things you can do once at the lake. Here is what we did.
Walk Around It
Definitely walk around the lake. I would suggest walking clockwise, this will take you over some rocks along the edge to get to the other side of this lake. My favorite views were from the opposite side as you walked up to it. We perched on top of the overlook on the other side and ate lunch there.
Jump In
You can jump in this lake! I did, and be prepared for it to be very cold! It took my breath away a little bit. But makes the perfect cool down after a long hike. Or at least stick your feet in and cool them off.
There are not many shaded spots around, so as I would loved to have stayed here all day we eventually had to pack up and leave. We stayed for about an hour.
As a day hike the hike back will be the same as the way in.
Other Ways To Hike To The Blue Lake
As A Through Hike From Lake Irwin
This hike would make a perfect through hike. Totally doable in one day. Setting up transportation would be the hardest part. I would recommend leaving a car at Oh Be Joyful the night before, staying at Camp Irwin for an early start the next day. So you will need two cars for this hike, a car at each location. This route will be about 13.7 miles. This is the easier of the two through hikes as the steep sections will be downhill along this route.
As A Through Hike From Oh Be Joyful
This would be the same exact trail as starting at Lake Irwin but backwards. This route has you starting as Oh Be Joyful and ending at Lake Irwin. I believe this would be the harder of the two routes as you would be completing a pretty steep uphill climb from Blue Lake to Scarp Ridge. Also 13.7 miles total.
As A Day Hike From Lake Irwin
The Blue Lake can be reached as a hike out and back from Lake Irwin. I wouldn’t really suggest this route as you will be hiking up and down the hardest part of the trail as it is out and back. This is probably going to be your most difficult option. This hike would take about 4.2 miles one way.
A Multi-Day Trip
You can plan this as a multi-day camping trip. There are sites at the top of the lake with fire pits.
Optional Extensions
Scarp Ridge
The Scarp Ridge extension would add 1 mile one way, and 2 miles for the complete hike. If you don’t have time to see Scarp Ridge another day it might be worth it. Scarp Ridge has an amazing mountain ridge view. But I will warn you that this would be a major incline there and decline on the way back. Do able but hard.
Daisy Pass
Hike up as far as you want along the Daisy Pass. I hear many wildflowers are along this route. It even connects back to the road the Oh Be Joyful Campground is on, but a walk along a dirt road is not very fun.
Tips For The Hike
Bring Water
I brought 2 liters and ran out on the way back. This hike can get hot, and it is lengthy. Be prepared, especially if hiking during the day.
Go Early
Stay nearby if you can. Try to be close, especially if planning to do any of the extensions or as a through hike. Going early also helps in beating the crowds and the heat, even though we only saw like 10 people on this trail.
Leave No Trace
Follow the Leave No Trace guidelines and tips to keep these beautiful places open the public and beautiful.
What To Bring
Water– we each filled 2 liter water bladders and this 1 liter collapsible water bottle for our day hike.
Electrolytes- to help with dehydration and altitude sickness I like to use a hydration tablet (I love the Nuuns as they are easy to pack) at least once a day. So I stuck one in my water bottle for this hike.
Snacks– we like jerky sticks, a peanut butter sandwich, granola bars, and trailmix to bring on our hikes.
Swimsuit/Towels– if deciding to jump in the alpine lake, I love bringing a Turkish Towel with me. They are lightweight and they dry quickly.
Hiking Poles– I like my travel hiking poles for long all day hikes, definitely helps the knees.
Sturdy Hiking Shoes: I wore my Vasques Hiking Shoes.
DayPack– My favorite lightweight summer daypack is the Osprey Daylite Daypack. Perfect size for all that you need.
Hat/sunglasses- not much shade at the top of the trail.
Sunscreen
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Scrap Ridge From Lake Irwin
The day after this hike we drove to Lake Irwin and made the 1,8 mile hike up to Scarp Ridge. We didn’t have a 4×4 vehicle so we had to add a mile onto our hike as we parked at the campground instead of the lodge. But this hike is well worth it, not too difficult and stunning views over the expansive mountain ranges.
Green Lake
The Green Lake looked pretty cool from Scarp Ridge, if we had more time we would have tried to complete this hike while we were in the area.
Ruby Peak
The color of Ruby Peak looked awesome.
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Hey! If you’re doing this as a backpacking trip (camping up top), is there a place you can park overnight?
Hello! You can park at the Oh Be Joyful Recreation Center/Campground. They have designated spots across from the restrooms which are for hikers. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hello! You can park at the Oh Be Joyful Recreation Center/Campground. They have designated spots across from the restrooms which are for hikers. Let me know if you have any other questions.