Saturday, May 16, 2026

Roosevelt National Forest: Columbine and East Dowdy Lake Trails

 This morning I drove down to Red Feather Lakes to do some hiking near Mount Margaret. There's a whole system of trails out there and I wanted to explore some of them that I hadn't been on before. I had originally planned to hike Columbine and Columbine Ridge Trails but because of an unsigned trail junction I ended up getting off trail and hiking farther away from where I had intended. 

I started my hike at the Mount Margaret Trailhead and headed off into the spring woods. There were wonderful views and flowers in bloom.



I made my way over to Dowdy Lake with wonderful views of the lake and the surrounding rock formations. 



From the Dowdy Lake Trailhead, I backtracked a bit and headed east to the Frog Pond Trail. I took the Frog Pond Trail to the West Loop Trail and then headed west on the Columbine Trail. 





Unfortunately, somewhere on the Columbine Trail I took a wrong turn and ended up hiking back to Dowdy Lake on an unofficial, but heavily trafficked trail.


I retraced my steps and eventually found my way to the Columbine Trail which I hiked to its terminus. I thought it might lead to a view, but is was a nondescript location without much to write about or photograph. 



I did pass an old homestead with a pile of wood boards and parts of an old car.



As I made my way back to the trailhead via I spotted a really vibrant mountain bluebird and tool a few photos. 


It was typical Red Feather Lakes scenery as I returned to the trailhead, just as thunder started to rumble in the distance. 



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