Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / New Mexico / Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Wheeler Peak via Horseshoe and Lost Lakes

Wheeler Peak Wilderness, Carson National Forest (East Fork and Middle Fork trailheads, south of Red River)

Wheeler Peak, about 13,160 feet, is New Mexico’s highest point, according to the Transient Trekker. From the Red River side, there’s a backpacking loop through two alpine lakes: up the East Fork of the Red River to Horseshoe Lake near timberline, over the summit, and down past Lost Lake.

SummitPost says no permits are needed for day hikes or overnight trips in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness.

The hike

Go-NewMexico describes the approach: drive about 6 miles south of Red River on NM 578 to where the pavement ends at the Middle Fork and East Fork junction, cross the bridge onto Forest Road 58A, and park at the wilderness users’ lot after about 1¼ miles. From there, walk about ¾ mile across private land to the trailhead at the Ditch Cabin Site.

Backpacker’s loop heads south along the East Fork, crosses Sawmill Creek on a small bridge, keeps right at the Sawmill Park Trail junction at mile 0.9, and crosses the East Fork and another creek. At mile 3.2 it reaches a clifftop vista about 1,000 feet above the valley, then enters the wilderness. Go-NewMexico notes a rock slide and several openings as the trail turns west and gets steeper and rockier near Horseshoe Lake, at 11,950 feet. It calls the lake windy and asks hikers to avoid damaging the ancient bristlecone pines along the shore.

From Horseshoe Lake, Backpacker climbs 1.3 miles to the 12,900-foot saddle between Wheeler and Simpson Peaks. Wheeler’s summit is a short walk away, and Backpacker adds Simpson Peak (12,976 feet) and Old Mike Peak (13,113 feet) as side trips. Its route then returns to Horseshoe Lake and drops less than a mile on the Lost Lake Trail #91 to Lost Lake.

The Forest Service lists Lost Lake at 11,495 feet, stocked with native cutthroat trout. Below the lake, the Lost Lake Trail leaves the wilderness and descends through Douglas-fir and white fir to the Middle Fork, where a jeep road (Forest Road 487) leads back to the Middle Fork parking area. Backpacker counts about 2.6 miles of road walking on Forest Roads 487 and 58A to return to the East Fork lot.

The Transient Trekker describes a variation from the Middle Fork side: a first night at Middle Fork Lake, an unmaintained, red-blazed social trail to the Wheeler Peak Trail #90, then over Mount Walter and the summit and down past Horseshoe Lake to Lost Lake. It warns that there is no water for about 6 miles between the Trail #90 junction and Horseshoe Lake.

Backpacker recommends starting by about 7 a.m. because summer lightning on Wheeler is frequent.

Tips

Camping

No permit is needed (SummitPost). The Carson National Forest says camping and campfires are not allowed on the Lost Lake shore and campsites must be at least 300 feet from the lake; Go-NewMexico gives the same 300-foot rule for Horseshoe Lake. Domestic sheep and goats are prohibited in Carson wilderness areas. The forest lifted its 2026 fire restrictions on July 21; check for new ones. Middle Fork Lake has a vault toilet in poor condition, according to the Transient Trekker.

Inside Intel: Backpacker says the north shore of Lost Lake has the best sites, and recommends a treeline campsite with peak views about half a mile up the Horseshoe Lake spur. The Transient Trekker also favored Lost Lake, writing that Horseshoe Lake has only a couple of sites and Lost Lake has many better ones.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Dinner at Lost Lake:

After a day over New Mexico's highest summit, a hot meal by the cutthroat lake is the payoff. See which backpacking meals testers keep coming back to.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.