Hohnholz Lakes
We took the Mendenhall trail to the end at the big intersection and then headed down Hohnholz Lakes from the end to the trailhead. Along the way we thought we'd see intersections with other trails. It wasn't meant to be.
The first intersection we were looking for was one that would take us into the Old Roach aread of Roosevelt National Park, trails that promised to take us all the way up to Wyoming. Unfortunately, that intersection was long gone and closed. It looked like it hadn't been used for a long, long time.
We kept heading down to the lakes, looking for another intersection that would take us to trails that snaked along the border between Larimer and Jackson counties. Those trails also didn't exist anymore. What a bummer.
So we ended up just heading all the way down to the lakes. Coming out of the trees, we were treated to amazing views of the valley below us as we descended. It was absolutely gorgeous. We saw more campers and more people out exploring as we got closer to the trailhead.
We stopped at the big lake, Hohnholz Lake, for a short break. It was nice to stop but there were lots of people in the parking area and fishing on the lake so we decided not to stop there for lunch. We stopped to look at the other two lakes on the way out but we didn't get out of our vehicles.
When we got out to the trailhead we headed south on Laramie River Road to check out other possible trails. We stopped at the trailhead for Bull Mountain Road but we decided to keep going, planning on coming back there later.
We drove by a couple other possible trails but they were all owned by the ranches in the area. Apparently only the Hohnholz Lakes trail gives you access to the Medicine Bow Mountains from Laramie River Road. It was a bummer but at least now we know.
We headed back up to do Bull Mountain Road. After that we did Hohnholz Lakes again in the usual direction. We didn't stop at the lakes but we did venture down a spur marked Grace Creek. It was a nice descent and we hoped to be able to cross the creek at some point but the trail dead-ended at a big drop off at the creek. Turning around there was tight but we all eventually got back to the main trail.
It was a lot of exploring but we know the area pretty well now. It was worth it.
