A new trail has been built to a popular, high-alpine lake in Colorado.

That’s Lost Lake, reached a short way off Cottonwood Pass outside of Buena Vista. Hannah Hunter with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado led a team of 61 people last month to dig a U.S. Forest Service-sanctioned path to the scenic destination near 11,800 feet.

“Basically in 2020, Lost Lake got really popular on social media, and a lot of people started coming to it,” Hunter said. “But the problem was the trail to the lake was user-created. It was never part of the Forest Service trail system.”

In a Facebook post, the Forest Service said increased visitation “has taken its toll in the form of many braided routes.” The agency said a new, professionally designed trail “will help prevent hiking through mud bogs, and the new (parking) lot will replace dangerously parking off the shoulder of busy, windy Cottonwood Pass.” The post indicated the trail would open in the fall.

Starting from an old forest road, the reroute stretches through trees and a scree field. It also passes historic intrigues, including a mining claim and cabins. The new trip to the lake one-way is about 1½ miles, Hunter said.

“High-alpine lakes are pretty hard to get to usually,” she said. “People want to appreciate nature, so making it accessible is good.”