The story
Up ahead on the left, watch for the signed dirt road to Parker Lake — that's the detour I promised back at the trail briefing. It's about two and a half miles of graded dirt, fine for most cars driven gently, to a small trailhead. From there the Parker Lake trail climbs about two miles up an aspen-lined creek to a lake sitting in a rock amphitheater under twelve-thousand-foot peaks — the best moderate hike in the basin, and most people driving this loop never even see the turn. If you've got two spare hours and water in the car, it's the one.
Photo: Michael Kwok · CC BY 4.0