Lake San Cristobal

The Second Largest Natural Lake In Colorado, Dammed Around Seven Hundred Years Ago By The Slumgullion Earthflow A Vast Slow Landslide That Is Still Moving Today, And Is A National Natural Landmark In Its Own Right. · Lake City, Colorado

About seven hundred years ago a huge mass of volcanic rock and clay let go on the flank of Mesa Seco and flowed down into the valley of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, blocking it. The water backed up behind it and became Lake San Cristobal, the second-largest natural lake in Colorado. The remarkable part is that the landslide never stopped: the Slumgullion Earthflow is still creeping downhill at several feet a year in its active lobe, and the yellow-tan scar of it is visible for miles from the road above. It is a National Natural Landmark on those grounds alone. The lake below is two miles long, cold, deep and ringed by the San Juans, with fishing, paddling and a handful of campgrounds, and Lake City - a town of about four hundred - sits at the northern end. Drive up to the overlook on Slumgullion Pass and the whole thing makes sense at once: the yellow-tan flow, the blocked valley, the water behind it.

Colorado 149 South, Lake City, Colorado, 81235, United States

Open year-round as public water with county and Forest Service access points, and no entrance fee for the lake itself. Campgrounds and boat ramps are largely seasonal, running roughly late May to September. THE APPROACH IS THE CONSTRAINT: Colorado 149 over Slumgullion Pass is open year-round but is steep, subject to closure in storms, and the Alpine Loop roads above the lake are summer-only four-wheel-drive routes. Ice fishing takes over in deep winter when conditions allow.

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