username
X
password
register
for free!
 help
 Home FAQ Contribute Camp Granada Surveys Shop
 TrailDEX Filter Areas A to Z Easy Hikes in Season Dog Hikes in Season
 MapRoute Editor Route Editor Route CloudRoute Scout Route Scout Foliage DEX Wildflower DEX
Publish a Guide
Trail/Hike Guide
 GPS Route
Recorded Track of a Hike
 Triplog
Review/Journal of a Hike
 Photoset
Photos of a Hike
help
  HAZ Forum
ArticlesGuidesRoutes
 
Photosets
 Recent Photosets
Liked PixelMASTERS
Avatars Tagged Notes
 
 Comments
triplogs   photosets   labels comments more
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato Lake - 5 members in 5 triplogs have rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
5 triplogs
login for filter options
Jul 02 2016
avatar

 Guides 94
 Routes 840
 Photos 22,055
 Triplogs 1,993

52 male
 Joined Sep 18 2002
 Tempe, AZ
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato LakeSouthwest, CO
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato Lake
Southwest, CO
Hiking avatar Jul 02 2016
chumley • Triplogs 1,993
Hiking3.26 Miles 546 AEG
Hiking3.26 Miles   1 Hour   39 Mns   2.64 mph
546 ft AEG      25 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
clairebear
John9L
Is it Potato Lake or Spud Lake? Nobody knows. But it made for an easy follow-up afternoon hike. The road to the TH is a bit rough, but the hike is a perfect family outing and for a holiday weekend we saw a few of them along the way. There are 4-5 campsites around the lake and one of them was occupied. Otherwise this was just a pleasant hike through the forest with not much elevation gain. The views from Liam's Lookout down the 550 corridor along the Hermosa Cliffs to Purgatory and beyond were great. But the highlight is the lake and the looming West Needles that rise above it.
 Flora
 Flora [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Rocky Mountain Columbine  Yellow Pond Lily
 Culture
 Culture [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Cag Shot  Inscriptions
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  North Twilight Peak  Potato Lake  Scout Lake  South Twilight Peak  Twilight Peak  West Needle Mountain  West Needle Mountains
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Light

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water 3 out of 5water 4 out of 5 Potato Lake 76-100% full 76-100% full
_____________________
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
  2 archives
Jul 02 2016
avatar

 Guides 6
 Routes 183
 Photos 5,612
 Triplogs 1,647

male
 Joined Mar 12 2004
 Scottsdale, AZ
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato LakeSouthwest, CO
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato Lake
Southwest, CO
Hiking avatar Jul 02 2016
John9L • Triplogs 1,647
Hiking3.26 Miles 546 AEG
Hiking3.26 Miles
546 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
chumley
clairebear
After hiking the Purgatory Creek Trail we drove over to Potato Lake TH. The road in is a bit rough but there was at least one sedan that made it. This hike is very straightforward as the trail gradually gains elevation. We passed a nice lookout and a few nice size ponds on our hike up. Soon after we hit the Potato Lake which is surrounded by majestic peaks. We had good weather for this and really enjoyed the lake as we made a counter clockwise loop around it. We took a short break on the far side and then finished off the loop and returned to Chumley’s truck at the trailhead. This was a really nice hike that took about an hour or so. It was well worth the time and effort.
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Light
_____________________
 
Jun 04 2016
avatar

 Guides 25
 Routes 36
 Photos 2,890
 Triplogs 658

39 male
 Joined May 30 2008
 Peoria, AZ
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato LakeSouthwest, CO
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato Lake
Southwest, CO
Hiking avatar Jun 04 2016
hippiepunkpirate • Triplogs 658
Hiking2.00 Miles 400 AEG
Hiking2.00 Miles
400 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
I feel bad I haven't shared on HAZ in a long time. I have been diversifying my exercise so I'm not hiking nearly as much as I used to, but I think I got some awesome photos during my Colorado trip in early June so I gotta share! This was a little dayhike on the Potato Lake Trail (known to locals of Durango as Spud Lake). It was an awesome little hike, and the lake at the trailhead itself was pretty sweet too. Great views on the hike up, and Potato Lake was super relaxing. We were there on a saturday so it was a bit busy with fisherman but still awesome non the less.
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  West Needle Mountains
_____________________
My blog: Mountain Tripper
My book: Arizona: A Photographic Journey
  2 archives
Aug 14 2013
avatar

 Guides 11
 Routes 88
 Photos 2,649
 Triplogs 243

93 male
 Joined May 16 2005
 Scottsdale, AZ
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato LakeSouthwest, CO
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato Lake
Southwest, CO
Hiking avatar Aug 14 2013
Al_HikesAZ • Triplogs 243
Hiking2.80 Miles 439 AEG
Hiking2.80 Miles
439 ft AEG8 LBS Pack
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Went on vacation with my wife to Durango. Our first time to Durango so lots of sightseeing and not a lot of hiking. Lunch at the Cypress Café then to Gardenswarz Outdoors on Main. I bought Hiking Trails of Southern Colorado by Paul Pixler http://hikearizona.com/books.php?STu=6&C=1 and I bought the Durango Colorado Trails Recreation Topo Map by Latitude 40 http://hikearizona.com/books.php?ID=1230&STu=6 I give the book 4 1/2 stars and the map 5 stars.

We were guests of a friend who owns a place at Durango Mountain Resort. So this was our base of operations.

I had a list of several hikes. But our friend mentioned that she would like to hike to Spud Lake. She used to hike this often with her children and late husband. She had memories of her husband teaching the kids how to skip stones across the lake. She hadn’t hiked in Durango since her husband – Gary Bird – was killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. So Spud Lake it was.

The road in is an adventure. Open range so we had a wait for some cattle to move across the road. Nice little hike, not much AEG. Lots of beaver activity. I saw the ripples of a beaver, but did not quite see the beaver. This is monsoon season so some threatening clouds and a brief drizzle. Lots of mushrooms at this time of year. Lots of families at the lake. Donna prayed and meditated while I walked around the lake. A boy and his father were fishing. They had caught some brook trout and one small rainbow. As we were hiking out, two birders motioned for us to be quiet and handed us the binoculars and showed us where to look to see a moose. We waited for between 5 -10 minutes but it was bedded down for the afternoon just lazily munching on greens. They have been reintroduced to the Weminuche and are apparently doing well. But locals were impressed that we had seen one.
 Flora
 Flora [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Fly Agaric Mushroom
 Fauna
 Fauna [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Moose
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  North Twilight Peak  Potato Hill  Potato Lake  South Twilight Peak  Twilight Peak
_____________________
Anybody can make a hike harder. The real skill comes in making the hike easier.
life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. Andy Rooney
 
Jun 16 2009
avatar

 Guides 170
 Routes 148
 Photos 5,914
 Triplogs 2,097

48 male
 Joined Apr 12 2004
 Tucson, AZ
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato LakeSouthwest, CO
Spud Lake Trail #661 - Potato Lake
Southwest, CO
Hiking avatar Jun 16 2009
PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097
Hiking3.00 Miles 450 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
450 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
ryan321
Twenty years after hiking this with my dad, I returned with my brother Ryan for a late afternoon hike. Even the drive in was outstanding. We desert dwellers were in Heaven, and lingered long. We hiked around the lake, took loads of pics, then headed back.

After the hike, we drove north to Silverton in the waning light, where we had Mexican food at the only restaurant that was open. Not great, but we were hungry. The night took us further north, over Red Mtn Pass, and dodging scores of deer, before checking into Comfort Inn in Ouray.

Ouray convenience store clerk at 10 pm: "Are you looking for something?" Mr. Sands,(in his mind) purposely knocking a bag of Doritos onto the floor: "Yea, trouble."
A very special day it was!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odAyuoFuen0
 Flora
 Flora [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Bluebells
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Silverton
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Light
_____________________
"…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan
  3 archives
average hiking speed 2.64 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

FAQ
helpcommentissue

end of page marker