Description: The easy accessibility of the lake makes it one of the most popular and therefore,
one of the most heavily used trails on the district. The trail is moderately steep and has some good
views of the surrounding mountains for most of the trip. The mosquitoes are occasionally heavy, the
scenery is excellent and the fishing is fair, which makes this a fine overnight backpack trip or a route
to the popular Snowmass Lake over Trail Rider Pass. The scenery is beautiful and water is easily
obtainable. Heavy horse use may be encountered, so please give them the right of way if you are
hiking, to minimize resource damage beside the trail.
Directions: Travel south on Hwy 133 for 25 miles past Carbondale to County road 3 and take the
Marble turn to the left. Drive through Marble and past Beaver Lake. The road begins to head uphill
and passes over shale rock (4WD needed). About 1 mile outside of Marble, there is a fork in the
road, take road # 314 to the right. The road immediately heads downhill. It is about 5 1/2 miles to Crystal City. Pass through Crystal, head uphill and to the north about 1/2 mile. While heading uphill take the left fork in the road. It is a sharp left hand turn. This road leads to the trailhead in Lead King Basin. This road is a fairly difficult 4 wheel drive road with some steep drop offs.