Upper Diamond Lake (11,738') is located in a slender cirque under Mt Jasper in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. No trail leads to Upper Diamond Lake, but a challenging x-country route splits of the Diamond Lake Trail into an adjacent valley and follows UDL's outlet through gorgeous alpine meadows to the lake.

Routes will vary, but the most efficient approach follows the Diamond Lake Trail to meadows just before the lake, then veers off-trail on a 1.6 mile, 800' cross-country traverse

The cross-country portion of the route described here leaves the Diamond Lake Trail at this meadow and heads NW for the adjacent drainage

Much of the lake is surrounded by talus, but several grassy knolls provide easy water access and places to relax

Alpine tundra grasses include the Alpine Blue Grass, Skyline Blue Grass, Spike Trisetum, Tufted Hair Grass, Spreading Wheatgrass, Kobresia and Pyrennian Sedge

While Diamond Lake (pictured here) is deservingly among the busiest destinations in the Indian Peaks, few look beyond or above to Upper Diamond Lake

A final snowfield must be scaled or scrambled around to reach the lake

Upper Diamond Lake is located in a slender, rocky cirque under Mt Jasper (12,923')

The route crosses several acres of gentle, obstacle-free alpine meadows with a great deal of navigational freedom

The Arapaho Pass Trail's ramp-like path up the north valley wall can easily be seen from high points over Diamond Lake

The route levels past this large tarn after a steep push through treeline and tangled patches of krummholz and willow

Upper Diamond Lake's outlet will lead you right to the lake - the trick is finding it!

Fortunately, the steepest x-country sections scale slopes with clear paths through most obstacles

Cushion and mat plants help build soil by capturing organic debris in their foliage, plots in which grasses and taller plants can eventually root; this turns fellfield into alpine turf, a process that can take centuries

Passing through treeline between Diamond Lake and Upper Diamond Lake