Caribou Lake is located 4.65 miles from Fourth of July Trailhead in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It occupies a large, secluded basin 750' below the west side of Arapaho Pass. This challenging hike climbs to the Continental Divide, then drops steeply on shifting switchbacks to the lake. The Caribou Lake basin is braided with streams and dotted with ponds and bands of spruce.

Looking over the Caribou Lake basin from Arapaho Pass (11,906')

Caribou Lake is located at treeline below Arapaho Pass with ideal terrain for camping and exploration

A damp expanse of sedge islands and ponds extend from the edge of Caribou Lake

Steep, shifting switchbacks drop 750' from Arapaho Pass to Caribou Lake

Male ptarmigan are slower to change from their white winter plumage than females

A ramp-like trail climbs steadily through open tundra to the Continental Divide

Fireweed is named so as it is among the first flowering plants to occupy open or disturbed spaces

The Arapaho Pass Trail continues down valley from Caribou Lake to Monarch Lake

Lake Dorothy is a relatively moderate, 1-mile roundtrip excursion from Arapaho Pass

Caribou Lake's open, grassy shore is ideal for fishing its abundant trout

Limber pine live long and are slow growing

Caribou Lake is located about 8 miles from Monarch Lake Trailhead west of the Divide, a longer but less exposed route

Damp, rolling meadows on the final approach to Caribou Lake