St. Mary's Glacier

St. Mary's Glacier is a permanent snowfield above a small lake at 10,800 feet, an hour from Denver, and the shortest walk on this site to year-round snow. The trail from the Fall River Road lots is 0.75 mile and steep to the lake; the snowfield rises above it, and people climb as far up it as they like, which is where the 12,400-foot high point and most of the accidents come from.

From the parking lots on Fall River Road, the trail climbs a rocky old road through spruce and fir, gaining about 600 feet in three quarters of a mile. It is loose and eroded and slower than it looks. The trail arrives at the east end of St. Mary's Lake, a shallow tarn with the snowfield rising from its far shore.

A path circles the lake, and the snowfield begins where the meadow ends. The snow is walkable in summer with care; it is steeper than it appears from below, and the runout at the bottom is rock. Most people climb a few hundred feet for the view and slide back down. Beyond the top of the snowfield, the tundra of the James Peak massif continues to the summit of James Peak, a much longer day. Return the same way.

From I-70 exit 238 at Fall River Road, drive 9 miles north to the parking lots at the trailhead, on private land, which charge a cash fee of about $20 per car, more on holidays. Parking anywhere else on Fall River Road is illegal and heavily ticketed. The lots fill by 8 AM on summer and fall weekends. The land around the trail is a patchwork of private and Forest Service parcels; stay on the trail. No permit is needed.

Dogs are allowed on leash. The trail is short enough for kids, but the snowfield is where they get hurt, sliding into the rocks at the bottom; keep them low on it or off it. The trail's loose rock is hard on ankles and the lot is at 10,400 feet, so the climb feels harder than 0.75 mile. The lake is a drinking-water source for the town below; keep dogs and soap out of it. Idaho Springs, 20 minutes back down, has food and gas. The St. Mary's Glacier guide covers the parking in detail, and the Idaho Springs hikes page has Chicago Lakes and the Mount Evans trails.