Nature Seeker, An easy one day tour while staying in Pagosa Springs by Paula Bain

Bandora Mine and Clear Lake Trails Were Spectacular! 

The Bandora Mine Trail starts off of route 550, just west of Silverton on CR 7.  We passed the intersection of the trail that goes to Clear Lake and followed the trail through a heavily forested area. As we drove past the USFS Mineral Creek Campgrounds, I noted that the road to that point could be driven by a passenger car.  Soon, however, we were in the wide open spaces as we followed along   Mineral Creek.  The trail got a lot rockier and was more suitable for high clearance, 4 wheel drive vehicles than others.  The Jeepster persisted driving over it and fortunately, it was short-lived for then the trail got smoother.  But soon we were faced with a different kind of dilemma; two great big muddy pools of water across the trail!  I looked around for a stick to measure their depths, but didn’t see anything close by in the marshy, shrub filled area.  We took a chance and drove through them and it went okay.  This was foolhardy, I’m afraid, so the next time we plan a trip, we are going to be sure we have our walking sticks in the back of the Jeep, which will be used for hiking and measuring the depth of gigantic mud puddles!

Remnants of the Bandora Mine and Mill site.

The trail ended in a valley near Mineral Creek.

Remnants of an old cabin were near the mine site.

The trail passed the mine site and came to a dead-end so we backtracked to the Clear Lake Trailheadl.  A sign that marked its beginning couldn’t be seen unless you looked back at the trail’s entrance, which means nearly passing it by.  As we drove through an evergreen forest on the shelf road, we began to see the spectacular views between the trees.  Soon we were above the tree line as we followed the path which made sharp switch-backs as we journeyed upwards into the higher elevation.  We could see the trail that led to the Bandora Mine far below from that vantage point.  It looked like a small thread that wound its way through the valley.  The vast, surrounding mountain vistas were absolutely stunning!   On some of the switch-backs near the summit, there were steep and washed-out gullies making them a challenge as we continued winding our way upward near towering cliffs.       

A sweeping view of the mine and mill site.

Some of the fantastic vistas seen from the Clear Lake Trail.

Clear Lake was nestled in a bowl-like area in the shadow of a mountain.  Its beautiful blue color looked much like a gem stone in this alpine setting.  There were a couple of fishermen in small boats, drifting about upon the lake.  The elevation was 11,937 feet and the water was very clear.  I could hear little pikas squeaking as they scurried around in their rocky hiding places.  After walking along the lake for a bit, we knew that by the looks of the darkening sky, it was time to leave and happily go back the same way we came so we could see the views all over again!  The Clear Lake Trail was particularly scenic.  I would rate the views as an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10! 

The Scenic Shelf Trail

The thread-like Bandora Mine Trail could be seen in the valley below.

A beautiful waterfall trickled down the mountainside.

Clear Lake glistened like the hidden gem that it is.

Parts of the mountain that surrounded the lake.