Esmeralda Trailhead

Nov 1st, 2023

Aug 12th, 2023

We went to a different trail
Mar 12th, 2023

Started the day early at 7:30 at the Esmeralda Basin Trailhead which is a must during Larch madness. There were still a few spots remaining in the parking lot at that time. The trail is very rocky and at times you have to do a little bit of climbing. You reach all the larches at about 3 miles and then you can choose to go left or go down right. I chose to do the loop counter clockwise this time. The larches are amazing right now and and then seeing close to 10 goats makes it that much better. Even for a Monday this place was super busy. I spent about 30 minutes at the lake and most of the time was pretty cloudy. As soon as I started to hike down the skies were blue and the sun was out. Enjoyed the sun out the rest of the sky with no smoke. The way back down took me just as long waiting for all the hikers starting later in the day. This hike is a must fall hike. Round trip 9.5 miles and 3000 feet elevation gain. Picking out only 4 pictures was the hardest part about this trip report.
Feb 9th, 2023

This is a great starting point for hikes/runs in the Teanaway Mountains. There is a large stone parking area for several dozen vehicles. There are several different trail options and offshoots.
May 11th, 2021