Looking for a trail that hits all the highlights of the Colorado backcountry experience? The 8.7-mile Missouri/Fancy Lakes Loop trail in the Holy Cross wilderness checks all the boxes. You have roaring creeks, unobscured views of mountains for miles, quiet alpine lakes and two big passes to get your lungs burning. This is one of my favorite Colorado loop hikes.
The Missouri/Fancy Lakes Loop trail is a tougher one. Whether you head to Missouri Lakes or Fancy Lake first, the whole first half of the loop is uphill, albeit mostly gradual. Crossing up, down, then back up the two passes on the backside of the loop is the challenging part. To experience half of the trail without the passes, you could choose to do an out-and-back to either Fancy Lake or the Missouri Lakes.
Getting to the Trailhead
From US 24 (which goes south of I-70 west of Vail, or north out of Leadville), take Homestake Creek Road to Missouri Creek Road. Take Missouri Creek Road to the Missouri Lakes/Fancy Pass Trailhead (39.39028, -106.47034).
Hiking the Missouri/Fancy Lakes Loop Trail
Hiking to Missouri Lakes
From the trailhead, you could choose to head either right to Fancy Lake or left to Missouri Lakes. The hike up to Missouri Lakes traces up along Missouri Creek for three miles before opening up at the Missouri Lakes. This is a gain of 1,400 feet of elevation.
As the trail reaches the Missouri Lakes, it flattens out a little bit. This section is stunning! The Missouri Lakes is a series of about a dozen small alpine lakes among which the trail winds. The lakes have some large rocks perfect for a lunch break. There is also dispersed camping here if you choose to make it into a backpacking trip (highly recommend!).
Two 12,000-ft passes
Missouri Pass
The lakes are nestled in the flat(ish) spot below Missouri Pass, the crest of which sits at 12,000 feet. The switchback-laden hike up to the pass gains another roughly 450 feet in elevation. In the summer, this part of the trail is dappled in wildflower blooms.
On the top of the pass, you can see forever–views of the Missouri Lakes, the Holy Cross Wilderness, and Treasure Vault Lake below.
Fancy Pass
From the top of Missouri Pass, the trail heads down along the backside of the ridge over an exposed slope. Marmots perch on rocks here in the summer. Be sure to time your hike so that you avoid crossing the passes or exposed area in the early afternoon. Colorado’s afternoon thunderstorms pop up quickly.
The west side of the ridge here has the best views of the hike since it is so open. The trail begins to go up again to the crest of Fancy Pass at 12,398 feet, the highest point of the hike. Incredibly, Fancy Pass has even more incredible views than Missouri Pass.
Fancy Lake, Fancy Creek and back
Fancy Lake
From Fancy Pass, the trail drops down a steep, extremely rocky drainage to Fancy Lake. Fancy Lake is situated right at the treeline, with tall exposed rock slopes behind it and welcome green spruce below. The lake itself is a dark green color and is another mandatory stop-and-snack point.
Detour to Holy Cross City
For an added detour, you could take the Fancy Lake spur trail to the northeast over to check out the ghost town of Holy Cross City. The spur trail follows a bench for the most part and is a serene and quiet addition to the hike.
Holy Cross City, named for the peak not too far away, was a mining town for a brief period from 1880-1884. Its peak population during that time was 300 people, but after the mining boom subsided the town was vacated. There are still a few structures left standing here and it’s a neat detour from the main loop trail. It will add about 1.5-2 hours to the hike.
Fancy Creek to the Trailhead
If you plan to make this hike into an overnight trip, there is also dispersed camping at Fancy Lake.
From Fancy Lake, the trail loses elevation all the way back to the trailhead, which is about 2.6 miles from the lake. In this section, the trail follows Fancy Creek, which is a deep and roaring stream plunging its way down through the spruce trees. There are some sections of switchbacks here along the creek, as the slope aspect gets pretty steep in places.
Wildlife on the Missouri/Fancy Lakes Loop
The Missouri and Fancy Lakes loop trail traverses a wide variety of habitats as it climbs up to the lakes and over the passes. Keep an eye out for moose, bobcat, mule deer, black bear, marmot, and snowshoe hare.
If you choose to camp along the trail, it is best to bring a bear canister to keep your food and toiletries secure. The trees along the lake are mostly narrow spruce trees and don’t provide the best branches to be able to hang food.
Stay the Night
For the backpacking version of the loop, plus bonus lakes, check out this post.
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