TheLakeInsiderThe insider's guide to America's luxury lakes
← Grand Lake (Colorado)
Grand Lake (Colorado) · The outdoor list

Trails, docks, farms, markets.

The boat launch with the deepest channel. The trail to the gorge. The farm stand that takes Venmo. The icon you've heard of and the one you haven't.

Parks & trails

2 listed
  • Grand Lake
    East Inlet Trail
    Editor's pick

    A National Recreation Trail built in 1913, inside Rocky Mountain National Park, leading to Adams Falls (0.8 miles round trip) and continuing to Lone Pine Lake, Lake Verna, and Spirit Lake.

  • Grand Lake
    North Inlet Trail

    A trail from near downtown into Rocky Mountain National Park, leading to Cascade Falls (3.5 miles) and North Inlet Falls (7.6 miles).

Farms

1 listed
  • Grand Lake
    Mystic Mountain Mushrooms
    Editor's pick

    One of only two USDA-certified-organic mushroom farms in Colorado, growing Lion's Mane, Pioppino, King Trumpet, Oyster, Reishi, and other varieties on about an acre near town, sold wholesale and through local grocers.

    (303) 507-7658

Boat launches

3 listed
  • Grand Lake
    Grand Lake Marina & Boater's Choice
    Editor's pick

    A marina directly on Grand Lake operating since 1972, renting pontoons, sport boats, kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards.

  • Grand Lake
    Headwaters Marina
    Editor's pick

    A Town of Grand Lake-owned marina across from Lakefront Park, renting pontoons, paddleboats, and fishing boats, with free day-use public boat slips and guided one-hour scenic pontoon tours.

    (970) 627-5031
  • Grand Lake
    East Inlet Boat Ramp

    A public launch point directly onto Grand Lake, with no rental services on site.

Iconic stops

3 listed
  • Grand Lake
    Grand Lake Yacht Club
    Editor's pick

    A private club on Grand Lake, commonly described as the highest-elevation registered yacht club in the world at roughly 8,269 feet, a legacy of early Denver society families who summered on the lake.

  • Grand Lake
    Grand Avenue Boardwalk
    Editor's pick

    A wooden boardwalk dating to 1881, originally built by shop owners to keep customers out of mud and dust, now lined with more than 60 shops, restaurants, and bars in Old West-style storefronts.

  • Grand Lake
    Kauffman House Museum
    Editor's pick

    A log building built in 1892 by prospector Ezra Kauffman, operated as a hotel until 1920 — the only surviving log hotel built in Grand Lake before 1900, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and restored as a museum in 1973.