cathedral lake trail

路真的超难走。这条径不想环绕阿斯蓬市区的径那么容易，最麻烦就是因为路面都是小石头，特别滑，又干，而且又很高，所以真的不好走。但是湖面很漂亮，还有点泛蓝的颜色。

Great hike with an awesome lake at the end. Take plenty of water and i would highly recommend packing lunch. Beautiful views everywhere you look, make sure to take time to look around. no need for a high clearance vehicle, its a bumpy road to get to the trailhead but you can make it with a smaller car. you will want to go early if you want to do electric pass, you dont want to get stuck up there for an afternoon lightning storm. its a strenuous hike but not terrible, im 28 and in decent shape and I did have problems.

Not that hard really (I'm 64) Started early. I left at 8:15 and had the trail to myself for two hours. After half an hour at the lake I was back at the car by 12:15. The lake is surrounded by craggy mountains and it is awesome rather than picturesque. An early start means that you will get some good reflections in your photos. The trail could have been better marked in places.

A superb hike that will give you a workout, and if you have the stamina, Electric Pass offers a spectacular view. Drink lots of liquids.

A very pretty trail and my fly fishing husband was very happy with the large, colorful cutthroat that he caught and released. We were very surprised to find such large fish (14 and 18 inches) in such a high altitude lake!

Without a doubt, one of the most spectacular trails in Aspen. Its a tough-ish 1.5 to 2 hour uphill, but well worth the effort.

A testing but worthwhile hike from the railhead close to Ashcroft. Takes you through Aspen trees, pines, scrub, switchbacks and rock fields before reaching an amphitheatre of rock formations and crystal clear water. For the average hiker, it will take two hours to reach the top. A good few locals may overtake you but it is a definite must hike in Aspen.

I have hiked to Cathedral lake several times. It is a scenic trail that is fun to hike. Yes, there is a lake at the end.

Very strenuous if you are not used to the altitude but do-able. About 3 miles up to the lake and another mile up to Electric Pass. Not far from Aspen town about a 20 minute scenic drive up past Ashcroft (great Ghost town up Castle Creek Valley.) Have a beer at Pine Creek Tavern after the hike as a reward.

Being from Florida and elevation almost zero, I had a very slow go with this hike and the difficulty of the change in altitude and the consistent steepness. The hike starts out with moderate steepness, but progresses to where there is very little leveling off. The switchbacks had ice in areas and I was very happy that I had my hiking poles to safely maneuver the areas. The signage is a bit deceiving at the lake and there were several parties we encountered who never found the lake. The lake to the left is Cathedral Lake and there are no other lakes nearby. We were a bit overwhelmed by overshooting the lake by an hour that we admired it from afar. The entire hike took us about 5 hours; however we did go well beyond the lake and had some Altitude issues making it a very slow go on the upper steep end. This may have been the most cardio challenging hike up that I've been on given the elevation/altitude challenges. Although, The locals seemed not to have those issues.

This is a great hike but beware the relative short distance does not fool you - it is the rise in elevation that starts immediately and does not stop. That will get you, particularly if you are not a local. But the views are gorgeous and the prize is Cathedral Lake at the end!! Allow plenty of time - at least 3 - 4 hours!!

As you've read by the other reviews this is a tough hike, especially if you're a flat lander. We live in Jacksonville, FL a mere 60 ft above sea level. We are still young, but I would not say extremely physically fit, we are in shape but not in the gym pumping iron or running marathons on the treadmills. So with this being said, if you're just the average joe who run errands, maybe walks your dogs, etc then you can do this hike but be expected to be out of breath and exhausted after 5 - 6 hours. We began our hike at 11:30 AM which was much later than we should have started. As other reviewers noted you can and will get caught in storms up on the mountain - which we did. So before starting get an early start and expect to take 2 - 3 hours to get to the lake especially if you want to take photos or just enjoy the Aspen forest, pine forest or just the majestic beauty of Aspen. What will you need? WATER lots of water!!! You should also bring a light jacket and a rain jacket . You should also take with you some snacks just to fuel up. We packed sandwiches, water, beer and ate at the lake once we FINALLY arrived. But I cannot stress the amount of water you need to bring with you. We took over a liter and between the two of us were out of water 1/2 way through our hike. We also brought hiking poles (Black Diamond) which saved our legs and energy. We hike in Sedona but this is much much different so I would highly recommend a walking stick or actual hiking poles. We each used one which was perfect. What to expect, once again the other reviewers pretty much hit the nail on the head. Start early and you will make a nice ascent up the hill. About 30 minutes into your hike you will come to a waterfall off on the left side. Shortly thereafter you will continue to climb and come to an Aspen Forest - it's not large but you will see this beautiful sight especially if the Aspens are changing for the fall. You're not quite there yet, continue on for another 1 1/2 hours through some rock washouts, a pine forest (this is where we took cover during a mid afternoon rain storm). You will pass yet another large rock slide area and when you look up you will see 7 STEEP switchbacks. Yes these are pretty vertical but you're almost there. Continue on up the hill and you will come to some almost flat land. There is a campground to the left (we saw a large female mule deer here so keep your eyes out for wildlife). You will need to follow the main trail and cross the creek. There were two large beams here for us to cross but on our way back down one of the beams had fallen down a little. I'm sure this will be fixed soon. Once you cross the creek you will be just a few steps away from the lake, which is breathtaking. Once you get here just sit and relax and take it all in. Getting down the hill is easy but plan on at least 2 hours. If you have bad knees you will need to be careful. The hike is well worth it but the difficulty level is DIFFICULT just as the White River National Forest website states in the trail information (http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/whiteriver/recreation/hiking/?recid=40405&actid=50). I took plenty of photos but am typing this while in flight so unable to upload photos at this time. Enjoy and hike-on!

My husband and I hike all the time. Came to Aspen to hike. Decided on this hike because of the lake. It is a tough hike up to the lake but well worth it because of the beautiful lake.

Don't miss out. Hit electric pass at the end to get u over 13k. Beautiful!!!!! Leave yourself well over 3 hours if you are going to hit it all.

Exhausting hike with lots of side views. Getting to the lake feels like an accomplishment, the sound of the river/waterfalls was really relaxing. I can't wait to come back and do electric pass! The path is tough! And you will ascend at a rather rapid pace.