There are other great wildflower hikes outside of Crested Butte. I hike every weekend, and I have some trails that consistently blow me away with their color.
Writer's note: most are long hauls, and not for everyone. But, that’s how you get away from the crowds. I’ll start with the easiest and shortest.
Lake Dorothy
Indian Peaks Wilderness can have a ton of people in it. But, if you can manage the longer trails, you will have the peaks and valleys to yourself. One of my favorites is Lake Dorothy. A beautiful lake and gorgeous flowers almost the whole way? Yes, please.
Thomas Lakes
This is out by Carbondale. Two nice, little lakes at the end, but before that you see meadows just filled with wildflowers you'll want to prance through. There’s some pretty choice views of Mount Sopris too.
Fancy Pass-Missouri Pass Loop
Just go on this hike. Trust me. This is my favorite in Colorado. (And I’ve hiked a ton. It’s all I do, really.) The flowers made my jaw drop the first time I was there. Every color. Every kind. Combine that with a whole bunch of lakes, a roaring creek, and a bunch of snow-covered peaks of Holy Cross Wilderness? I’d do it every weekend if I could.
Handies Peak
This is a 14er near Lake City that made me love 14ers again. This is one of the easier 14er hikes I’ve done—and I’m not sure if that’s because it was actually easy, or because there was so much to look at. The pinks really got me on this hike. My dog even seemed to know this was a special hike—because when she got to the top, she surveyed the landscape for five minutes. I swear, she did.
Wheeler Geologic Area
This hike is really long. You probably want to backpack it, but if you’re nuts like me, you can do this in a day. There are tons of meadows ready for flowers, making the extremely long journey pretty pleasant. At the end point there are these weird, volcanic formations. I felt like I was on the moon. The flowers reminded me that I was on earth.
