Coney Lake Trail

The Coney Lake Trail #914 turns left (south) off the Beaver Creek Trail #911 a quarter mile west of the Coney Flats Trailhead. It parallels the Beaver Creek Trail on a long-abandoned road through a meadow for another quarter mile, then crosses Coney Creek with no bridge. The old road grows steeper as the trail enters the woods of the Coney Creek Drainage.

Just before the old road ends, the trail takes off to the right and circles the far (north) side of a little pond. The last half-mile of the trail passes through brushy willows and small trees and can be hard to find. One hint is to stay right (north) of the buttress that divides the valley.

Upper Coney Lake is about a mile above Coney Lake. You have to bushwhack up the drainage through willows or on scree as no formal trail exists to the upper lake (elev.10,500'), which lies below the steep, north slope of Mt. Audubon (elev. 13,223').

Length: From Beaver Reservoir to Coney Flats Trailhead - 3.4 miles; to Coney Lake Trail - 3.7 miles; to Coney Lake - 5.9 miles. DISTANCES ARE ONE-WAY.

To reach the Coney Flats TH, turn off of Highway 72 onto County Road 96, about 2 and a half miles north of the town of Ward, or 7 and a half miles south of the intersection of Highways 72 and 7.

Turn west on CR 96 and proceed about two miles on a well maintained gravel road to Beaver Reservoir.

Very limited parking is available on the north side of Beaver Reservoir where FDR 507 takes off from CR 96. Hike approximately 3.4 miles to the Coney Flats TH.

This hike follows the 4 wheel drive road, FDR 507, for 1.5 miles.

The hiking trail then follows an abandoned 2-track road for 1.2 miles before rejoining the road. It is 0.6 miles more to the Coney Flats TH.

Please hike within the old road bed and respect the private land boundaries you pass through. If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle with high clearance you can continue on FDR 507 (a.k.a. Coney Creek Rd.) 4.0 miles from Beaver Reservoir , to the Coney Flats Trailhead. This is a very rocky and often muddy road. It is not recommended for vehicles pulling horse trailers.

The last quarter mile of road crosses two branches of Coney Creek which can be waist deep in the spring. There are footbridges for hikers.

From the Coney Flats Trailhead, FDR 507 continues northwestward to join up with FDR 114, a.k.a. the Middle St. Vrain road, to Camp Dick Campground. The road between Coney Flats TH and FDR 114 is very rough, for experienced 4-wheel drivers only.

The Coney Flats TH is also a good jumping off point for the Buchanan Pass Trail #910.