Grand Lake is the largest natural lake in Colorado, and the little town on its shore is the western doorway to Rocky Mountain National Park. At around eight thousand seven hundred feet, it is a village of boardwalks and wooden storefronts, with canoe rentals, ice cream shops and souvenir stalls strung along the water, and it is surrounded by dark forest and high peaks. The lake is cold and deep, and the surface is often dotted with sailing boats in summer.
The Ute people have a legend about the lake, saying that it was the scene of a tragedy in which a war party lost its women and children on a raft in a storm, and that the mist that rises from the water at dawn is their spirits. Whatever the truth, the setting is moving. The Kawuneeche Valley, which runs south from the town, is the upper valley of the Colorado River, which at this point is little more than a small stream winding through meadows, a very long way from the great river that carves the Grand Canyon.
Most riders arrive via Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved road in the United States, which reaches over twelve thousand feet and runs for miles above the tree line, among tundra and rock. It is typically open from late May to mid-October, and it can be closed at any time by snow. The descent to Grand Lake is a long run through spruce forest, past moose meadows, and the last stretch along the valley is relaxed and level, with elk, and with a very good chance of seeing a moose if you look carefully in the willows.
The town has restaurants and basic services, but the main supplies are at Granby, about twenty kilometres away, or Estes Park on the east side, so it is best to arrive with fuel in hand. Cold, wind and thin air at the top of the ridge are real, so dress warmly. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer, and a road at that altitude is no place to be caught in lightning, so start early. In the evening, the light on the lake, with the peaks turning pink, makes up for a long day.