Lily Lake Trail

A wheelchair-accessible path circles Lily Lake, traversing sunny slopes of Lily Mountain to the right of the parking lot off CO 7 and penetrating a mixed forest of Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine on the left (south) shore. The lakeshore path varies little from the 8,927-foot elevation at the east edge of the lake. A detour path climbs steeply from the right side of the lake, taking rock climbers near the dramatic slabs on Lily Mountain before descending again to the main trail. Another detour leaves the lakeshore on the south side, taking walkers through elk-chewed quaking aspen groves and lodgepole pines. Both paths on the south shore are wheelchair-accessible.

The able-bodied can circle Lily Lake in fifteen minutes or circle it twice in thirty. The able-minded, however, take much longer, for there is much to see along this path. It may be the easiest place in the national park to find a varied collection of woody plants.

Ponderosa Pine

With a mixture of habitats, Lily Lake is also a good place for summer birding. Most of the ducks are mallards, which feed by dabbling in the shallows with their tails in the air. Those that dive below the water are less common ring-necked ducks.