TripOutside Trip Report · San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Highland Mary Lakes: A Two-Day San Juan Backpacking Trip Report
Two days through Colorado’s San Juan Mountains—up Cunningham Gulch to a string of alpine lakes, a night camped at nearly 12,000 feet, and a high tundra traverse under the spires of the Grenadier Range. Scroll the story below; the map follows every step.
Some trips you just want to relive frame by frame — this was one of them. Here it is the way we actually experienced it: photo by photo, with the GPS track from the trail so you can see exactly where each moment happened. Scroll slowly and the map flies to the spot every picture was taken.
The trail begins
Packs on, we leave the Cunningham Gulch trailhead and start up a green ribbon of valley, a creek tumbling alongside and the high country waiting somewhere above.
One last look down-valley
A breather on a rocky step to look back — the valley already dropping away below the crew, pup included.
Peak wildflower season
Mid-summer in the San Juans and the tundra is showing off: fringed blue gentian and lacy cow parsnip crowding the trail’s edge.
Into the krummholz
The forest thins to wind-stunted spruce and talus. The pup scouts ahead as the climb steepens toward treeline.
Almost to the lakes
A quick trailside portrait where the creek spills through the rocks — grinning, a little winded, and nearly there.
First water
The trail crests and there it is: the first of the Highland Mary Lakes, glass-still with its own tiny island. The pup makes a beeline for the shore.
Rosy paintbrush
Even up here, color everywhere — rosy paintbrush glowing against the alpine green.
Weighing the weather
Packs heavy with camp, we pause at the water’s edge to watch clouds pile up on the far ranges — a mountain habit you never quite break.
The basin opens up
Above the lakes the world goes wide: a chain of tarns strung across the tundra, two tiny hikers for scale under an enormous sky.
Evening at the lake
Packs off at last. A quiet sit by the water beneath the snow-streaked ridge as the light goes soft.
Camp, dinner, and a very good dog
Tent up, down jackets on, and two Farm to Summit meals steaming in hand at nearly 12,000 feet. Best dinner view in Colorado.
Morning, lakeside
Day two. The tent glows in a meadow of wildflowers with the lake at our doorstep — the kind of morning that makes the packs worth it.
The Grenadiers reveal themselves
We climb onto the divide and the payoff lands: the jagged granite of the Grenadier Range tearing up the southern skyline.
Walking the sky
Up on the open ridge, three specks and a dog trace the horizon under a ceiling of high, wispy cloud.
Miles of tundra
Hour after hour of rolling alpine — soft trail, big country, range after range fading into the haze.
The high point
Around 12,700 feet: pink granite scattered across the tundra and snowfields still clinging to the peaks in July.
Trail-buddy check-in
The pup circles back to make sure we’re keeping up, singletrack unspooling toward the next ridge.
Can’t stop looking
One more long pause to take in the Grenadiers’ spires across the basin — the kind of view that stops you mid-stride.
Starting down
The trail tips over and begins the long descent, green ridgelines folding away toward the valley and the truck.
Back in the trees
A last surprise near the bottom — a waterfall pouring through a mossy forest gorge. The mountains’ way of saying come back soon.
Two days, one perfect alpine basin, and a whole lot of tundra. The San Juans have a way of packing a big trip into a short window — and Highland Mary Lakes is about as good as it gets for a first overnight into this range.
Want to plan your own? Guided treks, gear rentals, and local outfitters across the San Juans can help you get out there.
