Lead King Basin Trail / Crystal Road Loop - September 2014

Lead King Basin Trail
Total mileage:  7.7 miles
Unpaved mileage:  7.7 miles
Difficulty Rating:  5

Crystal Road  (part of Schofield Pass)
Total mileage:  4 miles
Unpaved mileage:  4 miles
Difficulty Rating:  4

Starting & finishing point:  Marble, CO.
Total mileage:  11.7 miles
Total time:  2.5 hours

The combination of these two trails provides a scenic loop starting and finishing by Beaver Lake in Marble.   The Lead King Basin Trail is bumpy with embedded rock and drainage channels that cut across the road.  The road is narrow and there are a series of switch backs in the uphill section.
The trail follows the creek cascading down into the valley where clearance between the trees and rocks are tight.
Crystal Road is part of the Schofield Pass, originally a busy wagon road that ran between Marble and
Crested Butte.  It was traveled by President Ulysses S. Grant during his visit to the many mining camps in the area.
The Township of Crystal began as a silver mining camp in 1880.  Early prospectors named the town after the crystal-like quartz they found along the creek.  At its peek, Crystal had a population of 500, a general store, many private homes, several saloons, and the Crystal Club (a men's club) which still stands in the town.
Crystal survived the silver crash of 1893, but its population was dramatically reduced.  Today a few families call it home during the summer months.  The much photographed Crystal Mill remains standing on the outskirts of town along the Crystal River.

Charlie, Maggie & Marshall

 The shelf road leading back to Marble follows the Crystal River with fabulous vistas of waterfalls and the beautiful valley.  This stretch of the loop is very popular & our encounter with other vehicles was always interesting.   There is only room for one vehicle on this narrow road & finding a place to pull over was not easy.  It often required one of the vehicles to back up.

Township of Crystal

Crystal River Valley

Crystal Mill