Day adventure at Lake Isabel

We went to Lake Isabel for a day adventure. What is a ‘day adventure’? It’s an adventure that lasts most of the day.

It’s a day that you wake up early, eat a fast breakfast, pack the cooler for lunch and head out the door by 9am-ish. 😉 *Side Note- We aim for 9am, it’s more like 10am by the time we leave!

This type of day is spent playing outside along creeks, exploring trails, finding and playing with bugs and sticks. There is also a picnic involved and snacks of course. 😉

Usually our day adventure spots are at least an hour or so away. Or if we are camping then we plan on spending the whole day away from the camper. But you can make a day adventure whatever you want.

This time we went to Lake Isabel which is about an hour and a half from our house. When we go on day adventures we usually bring Luna, our dog. So you’ll see pictures of her.

So how was our day adventure at Lake Isabel? In short, it was great! We kind of wish it was a little warmer though! In the picture above the bushes were lacking greenery. The creek was roaring though and a nice sound as we ate lunch.

Ok, so why Lake Isabel… what makes this place so special. Let’s find out.

Where is Lake Isabel in Colorado?

Where is Lake Isabel? It is located in Southwest Colorado. About 43 miles southwest of Pueblo and 18 miles Northwest of Colorado City.

Take I-25 south to Colorado City/Highway 165. Follow highway 165 for 18 miles. The South entrance to Lake Isabel is on the left. Once you see the beautiful lake (Last photo above) you’ve gone too far.

We past it. We were following the GPS which led us to the little town right past the lake. If you too listen to GPS the above photos are what you’ll see. We turned in and followed a Jeep. Because clearly he knew where he was going. As we went farther down the road, we noticed a parking lot to the left and a booth in the middle of the road. We weren’t sure if this is where we needed to go so we turned around.

We got back on highway 165, went past the lake again and turn right. There was a booth in the road. The fee for the park was $9. We paid the man and drove in.

Once inside there is a ‘tunnel’ of trees that line the road. I’m sure it’ll look amazing in the fall too. To the right in the forest is the lake. You’ll pass some roadside parking then a vaulted toilet.

Ok, now that you know where this place is, let me tell you what you can do while you are there.

What can you do there?

• Camp – There are 3 campgrounds and one group camping. Southside is RV camping only. As we were driving through, GAIA said that there was a water spigot near the restrooms, but we didn’t see it. St. Charles is tent and RV camping tucked away off the main road. La Vista Campground is the best one for RVs, in my opinion. It was large, had many spaces with electric hookups.
• Lodging – Yep, you can rent a little cabin around here. The ‘little town’ I talked about above is the lodging area.
• Fishing – There are several types of Trout (brown, rainbow, brook) and Kokanee Salmon stocked in the lake.
• Non-Motorized Boating – You can rent a kayaks and stand-up paddleboards by the hour.
• Hike – Now, the hiking here isn’t abundant. In fact, there is only one trail and that’s around the lake. It’s about 2 miles, if you count the stairs heading down to the lake. But the views are amazing!
• Picnic – This is what we went there for and to scope out camping spots. That way when we come back, when it’s warmer, we’ll now which camp spots to reserve. But the picnic area was large, many picnic tables by the water. Bathrooms up the hill a little bit. A bridge even takes you over to another picnic area, if the tables, closest to the parking lot, are full. Each picnic table has a gill close by.

Tips for a great adventure at Lake Isabel

• Even when it’s raining this is a great place to visit!
• Bring a picnic lunch and spend the day
• Oh also bring your fishing poles and take your chance at catching some salmon or trout!
• After Memorial Day you can rent kayaks. If you have a life jacket bring it, or you’ll have to rent one along with the kayak.
• If you are going to play on the water bring sunblock and lots of extra water. 1 liter person is recommended.

We use the below checklist for our day adventures. It helps me to not forget paper plates or spoons. Not like that’s ever happened though…

Wrapping up our adventure at Lake Isabel

Our day trip was awesome. You should go one day. Take your dog, they’ll love it too.

In case you skipped to the bottom… some fun things to do at Lake Isabel in Colorado are:

• Camp
• Hike
• Fish
• Boat
• Picnic
• Enjoy yourself!

Happy Trails!