American Lake, near Aspen, Colorado

American Lake is in the Castle Creek valley, southwest of Aspen, Colorado.  It's in the Snowmass-Maroon Bells Wilderness Area.  Like nearby Cathedral Lake, it's a popular hike for both the scenery and proximity to the famous ski town. 

I had hiked there once before, but the skies were cloudy, and I wasn't terribly pleased with my photos.  We had perfect weather for the hike and for photography yesterday, and here's what I brought back.

the upper half of the trail passes through pine groves

the gray jays, known as camp-robbers, are used to seeking food from hikers

visitors are struck by the beautiful color of the lake

American Lake near Aspen

Not far from the popular Cathedral Lake hike in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area south of Aspen is American Lake.  Surrounded by steep cliffs that rise nearly two thousand feet above the lake, this hike is well worth the effort.  The trail climbs about 1,700 feet over three and a half miles, and has very good footing most of the way.  Once at the lake, it's not difficult to walk its circumference, and something I recommend, since there's nowhere else to go except back down.

The trailhead is a couple of miles shy of the ghost town of Ashcroft, on the south side of the Castle Creek valley.