Kite Lake Trailhead

Posted On: 6/6/2026 By: swilson753
Info: There are cones and signs about 1.4 mi below Kite Lake stating no access beyond them on CR-8. Plenty of parking at the closure spot, but even at 5:30 am people were parking a quarter mile down the road. The winter gate at 1 mk below Kite Lake is closed with the Forest Service closure notice posted on it. Lots of people out hiking the Decalibron today. Had Buckskin to myself.

Posted On: 6/14/2026 By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: Kite Lake road is CLOSED until 7/31! Apparently the USFS didn't finish their road construction last fall and now have implemented an immediate road closure without warning. But maybe we'll have a beautiful campground, parking lot, and visitor's center up there after all this work. Let's hope so.
https://www.14ers.com/images/USFSPike20260603.pdf

Feel free to call the USFS South Park Ranger District at (719)836-2031 with questions, concerns, or comments.

Oh, and to make things more confusing, there's a kiosk on the right after you leave Alma, where people could normally 1) pay the fee to park at Kite Lake and 2) scan a QR code to sign the liability waiver BUT the kiosk has been turn off without any posting next to it as to why or what to do. And if you scan the QR code sign, the internet waiver is broken and not viewable. Lot's of things have broken down here-hopefully they get it all straightened out after they complete work on the road.

Posted On: 5/30/2026 By: daway8
Info: Road is closed about 1.5mi from the trailhead due to major construction going on (but road is still open to foot traffic, or at least it was today - not sure what the situation is when the construction is actively going on). There were signs just a little before the road closure saying the area is private property and threatening to tow people parking there but nobody seemed to pay attention to those. There was some limited parking at a pulloff just prior to the private property signs. I parked in the pulloff just before Paris Mill (typical winter parking) to because I wanted the extra milage for conditioning (came out to be 13mi RT from there). It was only 1.5mi from the pulloff just before Paris Mill to the point where the road was closed.
There is still a sign at the very start of the road with a QR code instructing people to go to that site to fill out a waiver for hiking on private property but when I tried to go to the site I got an error saying "We can't find the smart waiver you've requested" so I'm guessing they gave up on the waiver idea??

Posted On: 5/14/2026 By: Ronsammons
Info: I hiked Decalibron yesterday, in reverse order. The road to the trailhead is closed about 1.5 miles from the Kite Lake trailhead so it added 3 miles to the hike.

Posted On: 4/12/2026 By: AndYouSeeMe
Info: Brought bikes for the road past the gate but it was OPEN today at least. No snow to summer TH.

Posted On: 4/9/2026 By: jacolc
Info: Road to lake is 100% snow free. Talk to NF worker at closet gate. Gate will be open at early June, because of work around TH

Posted On: 3/24/2026 By: Alpine_Exchange_36
Info: Stopped on by on 3/24 and the gate is closed again. Road up to the gate is completely snow free.

Posted On: 3/18/2026 By: Corndiggs
Info: Road is 99% dry all the way to the closed gate at 11.5k, ~1 mile to summer TH. a small handful of spots where you'll drive over 10-20 feet of shallow snow or ice that is melting fast. Should be fine for all but lowest riding sedans.

Posted On: 2/20/2026 By: Eagle Eye
Info: The gate about mid way between Paris Mill and Kite Lake TH is closed. There is room for a handful of vehicles to level park near the gate. There is a $$ drop slot there, but no fee forms were in the bin. The road was snow covered & drivable to that point, there are some deeper drifts in places. The bathrooms are locked at Kite Lake TH.

Posted On: 1/12/2026 By: jacolc
Info: Four SUV at the gate, but passable by 2WD for next week or so. Gate open, one SUV parked at lake, the biggest snow was just above gate.

Posted On: 10/19/2025 By: madmattd
Info: Road still closed at the gate ~1.25mi from Kite Lake for construction. Room to park ~6 vehicles near the gate before anyone else has to park along the road (where there is room to pass you please!!!). No construction vehicles anywhere in the closed section. Looks like they've moved a bunch of dirt around in the main parking lot and 1 other spot below the switchbacks but right now it's just a mess since they appear to be mid-project.

Road to the gate is about the same as always, OK for lower clearance with some care, though there was a bit more wash boarding on the way up than I remember from past trips. The upper road through the switchbacks to the (under de/construction) parking lot seemed about the same as always - rougher with some awkward boulders and ruts here and there to challenge lower-clearance vehicles. So far no signs that this section of road is getting any TLC as a part of the trailhead work, I don't know if that is in Alma's plans or not.

Posted On: 9/3/2025 By: mikegarner77
Info: Reached the trailhead on 9/2/25 for a quick 14er hike. Still open, no sign of construction yet. I went because 1/I was missing one of the summits and 2/despite what I read here and the official update from the forest service, the Town of Alma's facebook page seems to have the most current info. Advise keeping a tab on it: https://www.facebook.com/TownOfAlma as they were aware that the closure was postponed to 9/7 back on 8/25. They further shared earlier in August this update which makes it sound like even with the closure, you still have access though with about 2.8mi additional on your roundtrip.

:
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Construction from the access gate to the parking lot of Kite Lake Day Use and Campground begins September 1st. The road will be closed from the gate up, and the rest rooms will be closed as well.
You may still hike from the Sweet Home Mine up to the trail heads of Emma Lake and the Decalibron 14ers Loop (Mt Democrat, Lincoln, and Bross).
Temporary toilets will be staged below construction.
The Town of Alma is working in conjunction with the National Forest Service to improve the parking lot and road.

Posted On: 9/2/2025 By: Abraxas
Info: Just want to confirm the trailhead is, indeed, still open if only for this week.

Hiked the DeCaLiBron this morning and even when I got back around 11am the lot wasn't full. All the ugly ruts mentioned are also still there if only for this week!

Posted On: 8/29/2025 By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: Per Alma's FB page:
"The closing of Kite Lake/Decalibron trailhead access road has been pushed back one week to September 7."

This is a temporary closure to work on the road and it is expected to be closed through most of October. Here's the original closure info: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/psicc/alerts/nsfr-8-closure?fbclid=IwY2xjawMew3RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHi5PqQLJVCkv5HpApOimF5QWi7OQLxCpQCURoX3yLXU3Nz0Hh3E_7cxj7G0h_aem_h0kiLBMqICkK7O4Zci1ZoA

Posted On: 8/20/2025 By: SloanerBroner
Info: The road is rocky and a little bumpy is spots, but otherwise it may as well just be a standard dirt road until after the one switchback at the end of the road. There is a decent sized dip right before the campground lot but as long as you can find a good line over it and have good tires, you should be able to manage it without any issues.