For my articles about nearby Island and Hunky Dory Lakes see :. Arthur Lake is one of my favorite early summer destinations, ensconced in a gorgeous setting just below the Continental Divide, loaded with hefty cutthroat trout, and requiring some substantial effort to reach its shores. Which means I usually have the place to myself, particularly during the week. The turn off of US 50 is at Maysville, then about a ten-mile trek up County Road that starts out as a smooth, scenic paved road but which turns gnarly about four miles up just past the public Shavano Campground.
From there it is a very rough road suitable only for high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles. Buckle up! Some big cutthroat are just up the road! I overcome the temptation to try some casts to the trout that are dimpling the glassy surface on the reservoir, pull on my hiking boots, hoist my day pack and start the hike across the dam that leads to the trail to Arthur.
I advise strongly using a hiking pole to assist. The option is to don some waders and cross the small, shallow stream, then saddle back up with your hiking boots. But then you might get tempted again to throw a fly—I find the outlet loaded with dozens of spawning trout, some pushing 18 inches!
But I refuse to be distracted, and as the trout scatter, I tiptoe like a mountain goat across the log, and find the trail to Arthur along the North Fork Reservoir shoreline. The trail, about 1. In about one-half mile, the trail levels out and emerges into a big valley bisected by the creek that empties Arthur Lake.
The key is to cross the creek and meadow as soon as you emerge from the canyon section and head up the incline to the lake. If you cross further up, you will run into some very marshy terrain, and if you hike up the trail further and follow the north side of the creek, you will hit some very imposing palisades that are risky to climb. As you ascend towards the lake, keep high above the outlet creek which will be on your left.
