Lincoln Lake Climbing

This digital Lincoln Lake climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Lincoln Lake days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

The bouldering at Lincoln Lake is, in a word: adventure.

Visiting Lincoln Lake, or any true alpine zone, demands a certain level of outdoor expertise. While the approach is fairly short, it is incredibly steep, and more than one climber has vomited from the brutal hike out. The trail is poorly formed, very rocky, and not maintained. The talus blocks, which have drawn the climbers, are massive, and there are extremely deep and dangerous pits throughout the field. Additionally, the sun and wind are often intense. Every climber should wear SPF 50 sunscreen, have extra warm... Show more

This digital Lincoln Lake climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Lincoln Lake days smoother, safer, and more dialed. The bouldering at Lincoln Lake is, in a word: adventure. Visiting Lincoln Lake, or any true alpine zone, demands a certain level of outdoor expertise. While the approach is fairly short, it is incredibly steep, and more than one climber has vomited from the brutal hike out. The trail is poorly formed, very rocky, and not maintained. The talus blocks, which have drawn the climbers, are massive, and there are extremely deep and dangerous pits throughout the field. Additionally, the sun and wind are often intense. Every climber should wear SPF 50 sunscreen, have extra warm clothes, sunglasses, and be prepared for snow or intense thunderstorms any time of day, any day of the year. Temperatures can drop very quickly due to the thin air. Even on nice days, once the sun sinks behind the cliff, the temperature can plummet 20 or 30 degrees. A gorgeous 60-degree day can be transformed by blowing wind and snow in a matter of a few minutes. Warm clothes and a rain jacket are imperative. Conversely, it can feel downright hot in the direct sun. The important thing to remember is that Lincoln Lake is a place of extremes. The landings at Lincoln Lake are generally bad. It is imperative that you have at least two crash pads. If this introduction seems pedantic, that’s because the author cannot emphasize this point enough: the bouldering at Lincoln Lake is the most extreme in America. Don’t be fooled by the easy drive and relatively short approach. Be prepared for the worst, expect an adventure, and take responsibility for your actions. CELL SERVICE: Usually available at the parking, cell service can be very spotty/non-existent at the boulders so plan on not having it. SEASON: The gate to the road to Lincoln Lake typically opens around Memorial Day and closes sometime around the first of October, although the specific dates vary depending on the snow level. Lincoln provides the coldest conditions of any area in the guidebook. Climbers are free to hike in from Echo Lake anytime of year, but only the most hardy of souls have taken up this endeavor. PARKING: One of the biggest concerns climbers raise in regards to Lincoln Lake is the parking situation. For someone fit enough to boulder at Lincoln Lake, and who is willing to drop down that massive hillside, tacking on an additional 20 minutes of easy walking along the road shouldn’t be a problem. Taking this into consideration, I counted 136 available parking spaces. For the intrepid climber willing to walk 3 miles, there is unlimited parking. For the less motivated, for which even a one mile walk along the road seems too daunting or difficult, let’s look at the available parking spaces within a half mile of the generally used spots: I conservatively counted 98 available spaces. This amounts to about 7 times the number of cars that are parked at Lincoln on very busy days, freely available for anyone willing to add an extra ten minutes of walking down a flat road. From Denver, head west on Interstate 70 for 39 miles to the town of Idaho Springs. Take Exit 240. Turn left onto CO 103, following signs to Mt. Evans for 14 miles to Echo Lake Park. Turn right onto the Mt. Evans Scenic Hwy. After 0.1 mile, drive through the entrance ranger station where you will be forced to stop and talk to a ranger. While there are various fees for cars wishing to drive to Summit Lake or to the final parking lot just below the summit, there is no fee for parking on the side of the road to access Lincoln Lake. Tell the ranger at the station you are bouldering at Lincoln Lake, and they will send you through, free of charge. If you do wish to drive to Summit Lake or the Mt. Evans summit, remember to pay for the pass. From the entrance station continue driving 4.5 miles. The scenery here is dramatic, and the road makes a hard bend to the left. There is a large pull-out here on the left, which is never filled, and for the next 3.5 miles, sporadic roadside parking is available. At 5.6 miles, the road makes a sweeping turn to the right. Parking is available here at the apex of the bend on the left, and just beyond the bend on the right, in a small pull-off beyond a cliff. This is the best place to park if you wish to access the bouldering nearest the lake. This is the East Parking Area. For the next 1.1 miles, there are a number of parking areas along the road. Parking along the road here is rarely necessary, and does requires a short and easy walk to reach the East and West drop-in points. At 6.7 miles from the entrance station, the road bends back to the right. This is the West Parking Area for the west trailhead. The main trail down to the boulders at Lincoln Lake begins here. There are enough spaces on the left side of the road for about 10 cars. Please park in the direction of traffic.