Fourth of July Trailhead

Driving instructions to Fourth of July Trailhead begin at the town of Nederland, west of Boulder at the junction of CO 119 and CO 72. From the south side of Nederland, 0.5 mile from the road junction, turn west (CR 130) toward Eldora Mountain Resort ski area. At the spot where the road forks uphill (left) toward the ski area, continue on the lower (right) fork through the town of Eldora. Its pavement ends shortly. A mile past Eldora the road forks again. The left fork soon ends at Hessie (see page 245). The right fork climbs for 4 rough miles to the Fourth of July Traillhead. Forest service signs direct hikers to the trail to Arapaho Pass and Diamond Lake.

Almost 1.2 mile up the path, the Diamond Lake Trail drops down to cross North Fork Middle Boulder Creek. From the creek it winds and climbs through dense subalpine woods and flowery marshes for another 1.0 mile to the lake. Beyond Diamond Lake the trail surmounts a lovely tundra ridge before descending to the Devils Thumb Trail, about 2.3 miles from Diamond Lake. A right (west) turn leads after 0.5 mile to Jasper Lake.

Another 0.8 mile of trail through the woods to tree line brings you to Devils Thumb Lake, dominated by the rock spire that gave the lake its name, rising above a skirt of scree and talus. The route continues past the lake to climb steep tundra and rock slopes to Devils Thumb Pass and the Corona Trail (see the West of the Divide chapter). From Jasper Lake the broad Devils Thumb Trail descends the Jasper Creek drainage 4.4 miles to Hessie.

The Arapaho Pass Trail climbs past the Diamond Lake Trail junction for less than 1.0 mile to the century-old Fourth of July Mine, which yielded silver and a little gold. From a trail junction at the mine site, the right-hand path climbs to Arapaho Glacier (see page 243). The left-hand trail cuts steeply uphill for 1.0 mile across the rocky slope east of Arapaho Pass. From the pass it is an easy walk over tundra and boulders to Lake Dorothy, hanging below Mount Neva. Beyond Lake Dorothy follow an old wagon road to Caribou Pass, or you can descend steeply along a sinuous path from Arapaho Pass to Caribou Lake; it is a long way back up (see Caribou Pass Trail in the West of the Divide chapter).