Guide to Hiking Mt. Zirkel

• Date of hike: July 24th-26th, 2020
• Location: Slavonia Trailhead, north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, about 4 hours from Denver
• Rough Mileage/Vert: The Loop: 10.4 miles & 2,360 ft of gain
• Our time: We completed the loop, as well as Mt. Zirkel, in about two and a half days

If you’re in the mood for a choose-your-own-adventure playground, the Zirkel Circle is for you. On its own, the loop is fairly low in mileage which offers either an easy two-day backpacking trip or a totally doable day hike. The Zirkel Wilderness is home to its namesake, Mt. Zirkel, as well as Big Agnes Mountain, the beautiful Gilpin Lake, and countless other hiking spots. 

Getting to Solvonia trailhead is easy in a 2WD; arrive early if you want a prime parking spot, but otherwise, there is plenty of road parking once the lot fills. We hiked clockwise, but actually recommend going counterclockwise because 1) the view when you hit Gilpin Lake will be waaay more impressive, 2) there are more campsites before Gilpin Lake, and 3) it will be easier to include hiking Mt. Zirkel itself. We will try to work backward from our memory to make recommendations assuming a counterclockwise trek.

From the trailhead, you’ll take either Gold Creek Trail or Gilpin Lake trail, depending on the direction you choose to hike–Gold Creek trail will take you counterclockwise. Hike a little over three miles to Gold Creek Lake. After Gold Creek Lake, the “choose your adventure” method really kicks in. You have options: A. continue around the Zirkel Loop; or B. continue towards Red Dirt Pass if you want to Summit Mt. Zirkel.

Option A. Complete the Zirkel Loop – Continue on Gold Creek Trail until you reach a junction where you should veer left onto Gilpin Lake Trail. There’s lots of guides online that have details on hiking the “Zirkel Circle” so we won’t bore you with that.  There is a schlog as you get closer to the lake, but once you clear the “top”, the lake will blow you away. It’s richly colored, surrounded by peaks, and just waiting for you to jump in.

Option B. Hike up to the summit of Mt. Zirkel; we had a lot of difficulty finding guides on hiking Mt. Zirkel since almost all the Google search results were related to hiking the Zirkel Loop. If you decide to actually hike up to Mt. Zirkel, it’s really straight forward. Stay on Gold Creek Trail (past the Gilpin Lake Trail sign), and you will eventually reach another junction that will take you to Red Dirt Pass Trail. Go left at the fork and eventually you’ll be able to see Red Dirt Pass in the distance. It’s instantly noticeable because…it’s steep, and it’s red (see photos below). At the top of Red Dirt Pass, you’ll head north west and be faced with another hill. We won’t lie, it’s a SCHLOG. But it’s short. And kind of fun because you can pretty safely choose your own path (the trail mostly disappears after the top of the pass). From here, you’ll finally be able to see the three pronged-looking summit of Mt. Zirkel (you can decide which one you think is tallest). David saw the most number of people on the second prong, maybe because the first prong is quite small and a little more exposed. There isn’t much of a defined trail, nor much climbing until you get to the base of the “prongs”…fingers?…then, there’s a short 5-10 minute scramble. And voila, you’re Zirkled!

Camping Locations: We thought there were better camping areas before the hike up to Gilpin Lake, but you can really camp anywhere you feel like (as long as your’re 100 feet from the trail/any body of water). One unique regulation in this area is that you aren’t allowed to camp within a 1/4 mile of either Gold Creek Lake or Gilpin Lake. There are signs on the trail to remind of you of that (which are conveniently marked 1/4 mile out so you don’t have to try and guess; they have rangers checking/fining campers!).  If you’re able to hang out at Gilpin Lake until sunset, we think it’s worth it. Of course, it’ll depend on that day’s weather, but hopefully you’ll see a 360 degree sunset that makes everything around the lake go pink.

Zirkel Circle is perfect because most people won’t have trouble at least getting through the perimeter, so if you have a group, people can chill at the lake or go off on day hikes as they please. No matter the direction you hike or the trails you choose, we can’t recommend the Zirkel Circle enough! If aliens were to drop you at any point of the circle, you’d think you got dropped inside a postcard. 

And of course, be sure to stop in Steamboat Springs at least for a meal, better yet, for a longer weekend. 

At the top of Red Dirt Pass

Three “prongs” of Mt. Zirkel on the right