Whitney Lake hike is a pleasant hike not far from the Antlers at Vail and the town of Vail Colorado. One needs to drive about an hour to get there. Head west out of Vail until you get to Dowd Junctino exit 171 off of I-70. Next head south for 13 miles on highway 24 heading through the town of Minturn, up over Battle Mountain pass. Cross the big green bridge (you won’t miss it), go another couple of miles and then take a right onto Homestake road. This road is numbered #703 by the forest service and again is about 13 miles south of I-70. When you turn onto homestake road you need to drive another 4.6 miles on this rocky (sometimes dusty) road. You’ll find the sign to the trail just on the right of the road with parking on the left side of the road. The trail head starts around 9100 in elevation and tops out at the lake at 10956. Length one way is 2.5 miles, so it isn’t TOO long. The views can be spectacular.
View Whitney Lake in a larger map
Up at the lake, watch for the trout jumping in the lake
New bridge for stream crossing
Be careful on the stream crossing, the bridge is thin
Trout in the lake
Camp robber
