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Start: Outlook Ridge Trailhead on west side of parking lot just north of park visitor center

Distance: 3.3-mile lollipop

Hiking time: 1 to 2 hours

Difficulty: Moderate. Some elevation gain and loss on good trails.

Elevation gain: 400 feet

Trail surface: Single- and doubletrack dirt path

Seasons: Year-round. Winter can be icy; wear spikes on your boots.

Schedule: Park open daily 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. for day use

Other trail users: Mountain bikers

Canine compatibility: Dogs not permitted

Land status: Public land in Mueller State Park

Fees and permits: Daily fee required to enter the park

Maps: USGS Divide. Mueller State Park trail map at website.

Trail contact: Mueller State Park, 21045 CO Highway 67, PO Box 39, Divide, CO 80814; (719) 687-6867; www.parks.state.co.us/parks/mueller

Finding the trailhead: Take the Cimarron St. / US 24 exit (exit 141) from I-25. Drive west on US 24 up Ute Pass and through Woodland Park. Continue west on US 24 to the town of Divide. Turn left (south) on CO 67 toward Cripple Creek. Drive 3.8 miles to the park entrance and turn right (west) into the park. After paying your entrance fee, follow Wapiti Road for 1.5 miles to the Outlook Ridge parking area and trailhead on the left (south) side of the road. Restrooms, picnic tables, and water are available at the trailhead (GPS: 38.881137, -105.181298).

The Hike

The 3.3-mile-long Outlook Ridge and Lost Pond Loop hike combines seven park trails into a single hike. The trail mileage can be shortened, depending on the optional hikes out to the three overlooks along the way. Each of those out-and-back trails to the overlooks is 0.6 mile long. The four main trails the hike follows are the Outlook Ridge Trail (Trail #7), Geer Pond Trail (Trail #25), Lost Pond Trail (Trail #11), and Revenuer’s Ridge (Trail #1). The entire route is easy to follow and well marked by posts with trail numbers and blue arrows.

The loop hike, divided into two distinct sections, follows a rounded ridge west from the park road past three scenic overlooks of valleys below and then returns up a wooded valley past a small pond and back to the road. The ridge trail section offers picture-perfect views of snowcapped Pikes Peak to the east and the surrounding landscape of wooded hills and vales, while the second segment threads up a short steep valley that is filled with tall conifers, groves of quaking aspen, birdsong, and, in summer, a colorful array of wildflowers.

Mueller State Park, lying west of CO 67 just south of Divide, spreads across 5,120 acres with an average elevation of 9,600 feet on the northwest side of 14,115-foot Pikes Peak. The park, a showcase of natural wonders and wildlife, offers over 55 miles of hiking on thirty-six trails that explore its shady valleys, humped ridges and mountains, and granite cliffs and domes. Many of the trails lead to scenic overlooks with far-ranging views of the jagged Sangre de Cristo and Sawatch Ranges, home to Colorado’s highest mountains.

The park’s web of well-maintained trails, with generally little elevation gain and loss, can be easily linked together to form excellent loop hikes of varying lengths and difficulties. The comprehensive trail system is organized by numbers. Trails range from short and easy to long and challenging. Pick up the park’s trail map when you enter the park, at the visitor center, or download a copy from the park’s website to plan other Mueller adventures beyond the hikes described here.

Mueller also has 132 campsites and is renowned as the best wildlife-watching area in the Pikes Peak region, with lots of large mammals including black bears, elk, and mule deer roaming the backcountry, as well as raptors like golden eagles and red-tail hawks. The park’s sheer size and lack of roads ensure lots of seclusion, peace, and isolation for hikers.

The Outlook Ridge and Lost Pond Loop hike begins at the Outlook Ridge Trailhead and parking area at 9,680 feet on the west side of Wapiti Road just past the park visitor center. Picnic tables, restrooms, and water are available here. Sign the register on the trailhead kiosk and study the trail map. The smooth doubletrack trail, an old ranch road, heads west down Outlook Ridge and after 0.1 mile reaches a trail junction with Revenuer’s Ridge Trail (Trail #1), the return trail for the last leg of the hike. Go straight.

The trail dips and rolls, with occasional views south into Hay Creek Valley to the south, and after 0.5 mile reaches a junction with Raven Ridge Overlook Trail (Trail #8) on a slight uphill. Go left (south) on Trail #8 for great views. Raven Ridge Trail traverses a meadow and then drops steadily for 0.3 mile to a spectacular overlook of wide granite benches that drop abruptly below. Watch children here since the overlook is unfenced. This is the best viewpoint on the hike, with Pikes Peak looming to the east. After enjoying the expansive view, return 0.3 mile uphill to the Outlook Ridge Trail and turn left.

Hike down a broad ridge through aspen groves and conifers. After another 0.3 mile you reach the junction with Red Tail Overlook Trail (Trail #9) on a bend. Go left (south) on Red Tail and hike 0.3 mile downhill on the doubletrack-to-singletrack trail to a timber staircase and end at another spectacular overlook. This point, lower than Raven Ridge Overlook, is a smooth granite slab perched above cliffs and Brook Pond. Again, after enjoying the view, retrace your steps uphill to Outlook Ridge Trail and go left.

The trail descends steeply for another 0.3 mile and reaches the junction with the Long Eagle Overlook Trail (Trail #10), the third overlook, at a bench. Go left on Long Eagle, climbing a short hill and then following a level ridge to another great viewpoint at 0.3 mile. Return back to the junction with Outlook Ridge Trail and turn left (northeast).

Follow the doubletrack trail for 100 feet to a junction on the left with a sign that reads “Trail 7 Bypass to Avoid Steep Hills.” Go left on the Trail #7 bypass—this path avoids the steep hill ahead of you and a descent on the other side by contouring northeast across wooded slopes. Follow the singletrack trail through dense spruce and fir forest for 0.2 mile to a junction with the alternative steep Trail #7. Continue straight for 0.1 mile, crossing a trickling creek, to a major trail junction with Geer Pond Trail (Trail #25) and the end of the Outlook Ridge Trail (Trail #7). Go right on Trail #25.

The next 0.8-mile trail segment follows Geer Pond Trail for 0.4 mile, which then becomes Lost Pond Trail (Trail #11). The hike initially ascends a steep hill out of the drainage on a doubletrack trail. From the top of the climb, traverse above the shady valley. The rustic roadbed narrows in a swampy area fringed with dense forest, and the trail reaches Lost Pond after 3.5 miles. The small, quiet pond tucks in a pastoral pocket of forest and meadow.

Leave the pond by climbing north on the wide trail, which is now Lost Pond Trail (Trail #11), to the head of a shallow valley. Bend right and continue climbing east to a trail junction 0.3 mile from Lost Pond. Continue climbing another 0.1 mile to the Lost Pond Trailhead and parking area. Below the parking area and park road, however, is a junction with Revenuer’s Ridge Trail (Trail #1). Go right (south) on Trail #1.

The last hike segment travels 0.5 mile south along Revenuer’s Ridge Trail, dipping through draws and crossing tree-shaded slopes until it intersects Outlook Ridge Trail (Trail #7). Go left to finish on Trail #7 for 0.1 mile to the Outlook Ridge Trailhead and parking area after 3.3 miles of hiking.

0.0	Begin at the Outlook Ridge Trailhead on the west side of the parking area by restrooms.
0.1	Junction with Revenuer’s Ridge Trail (#1) on right. Go straight.
0.5	Junction with Raven Ridge Overlook Trail (#8) (GPS: 38.879316, -105.188835). Go left on #8 to overlook (GPS: 38.876004, -105.190744). Return to Outlook Ridge Trail (#7) and go left (west).
1.1	Junction with Red Trail Overlook Trail (#9) (GPS: 38.879859, -105.193309). Go left for 0.3 mile on #9 to overlook (GPS: 38.87538, -105.194277). Return to Outlook Ridge Trail (#7) and go left (west).
1.5	Junction with Lone Eagle Overlook Trail (#10) (GPS: 38.880496, -105.194939). Go left for 0.3 mile on #10 to overlook (GPS: 38.877082, -105.198316). Return to Outlook Ridge Trail (#7) and go left (northeast). In a few hundred feet you will come to the junction with #7 bypass. Go left.
1.9	Junction with Geer Pond Trail (#25) (GPS: 38.88116, -105.191887). End of #7. Go right on #25.
2.3	Reach Lost Pond (GPS: 38.882895, -105.185359). End of #25. Continue straight on Lost Pond Trail (#11).
2.7	Reach Lost Pond Trailhead (GPS: 38.882698, -105.181915) and junction with Revenuer’s Ridge Trail (#1). Go right on #1.
3.2	Junction with Outlook Ridge Trail (#7). Go left on #7 for 0.1 mile to trailhead.
3.3	End the hike at the trailhead.