The Twin Lakes are two gorgeous emerald lakes that are nestled up against large mountain peaks, and is close to Colorado’s highest mountain- Mt. Elbert. A day trip to Twin Lakes is a great way to spend a Saturday. There’s fishing, camping, water activities, beaches, and ‘swimming’ (if you’re brave- the water is cold but we saw people in the water!).

Twin Lakes is somewhat in between Leadville and Buena Vista. We had stopped in Buena Vista first for lunch then continued on to Twin Lakes. It took us about 3 hours to drive to Twin Lakes (with 2 stops).

There is the very, very, small town of Twin Lakes just north of one of the lakes. But, since we are traveling with kids, we didn’t get much farther than the two lakes and the third upper  (unconnected) lake, Mt. Elbert Forebay. This upper lake offers perfect views of Mt. Elbert.

 

We honestly didn’t do too much at Twin Lakes. We kind of just came to explore but then wanted to stay for hours. It’s the perfect place to bring the lawn chairs, food, water equipment (we saw lots of paddle boards and kayaks), and just hang out for the day. We walked around for a bit and took pictures and video. We didn’t have the older boys with us so the baby was enjoying every second of mom and dad time all to himself.

After our small little adventure at Twin Lakes, we headed down to Buena Vista to pick up our older boys who had been camping with the grandparents. Again, it was a brief trip (my first trip to Buena Vista in 6 years- pre kid days!). There’s a perfect kid park at McPhelemy Park, just west of the main area on Main Street and intersected with Highway 24. It’s situated on a small pond with a cute little red caboose on the opposite end.

 

Twin Lakes Information:
Not stroller friendly for the lake itself
Location: Twin Lakes, CO
Price: $6 day fee per car
Website: visittwinlakes.com