Indian Peaks Wilderness Area is the perfect alternative to Rocky Mountain National Park for couples who want to elope somewhere beautiful but also at a place that’s a bit more private where you can pick out your own place to get married. In recent years, the popularity of the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Brainard Lake area has exploded so it’s no longer as quiet and private as it once was, but that’s true for many of the wilderness areas close to the Front Range. If you’re looking for those stunning, dramatic mountain views with bright blue alpine lakes for your wedding photos, you should definitely consider getting married in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area which is near Ward, Colorado just west of Boulder.
This land is definitely what the rest of America envisions when they think of Colorado. It’s extremely high up in elevation (Brainard Lake is at 10,300 feet) so the road is closed throughout winter and you’ll have to check the road table for it’s opening date since it changes from year to year. Or there is always the possibility of parking at the winter lot and hiking in just over 2 miles to Brainard Lake if you are looking to do a winter elopement in Colorado. I highly recommend sticking with a summer elopement and doing a mid-week sunset wedding to avoid the crowds of day-hikers on the weekends and to use the prettiest light of the day for your wedding photos. They only allow groups of 12 people or less so this is not a good option for those who want to have a larger wedding. They also generally don’t even open the parking areas at Long Lake and the Mitchell Lake trailheads until late June to protect the land from those who go around the muddy trails. So this location is generally going to be best for small weddings from late June until early October.
It costs $12 per vehicle to get in at the Brainard Lake Recreation area but I’ve gotten in before using my annual America the Beautiful national parks pass so be sure to bring that with you if you have it.
The entire Indian Peaks Wilderness area is available for your small elopement, but the following are just some of the more popular places with easy access on the trails. It’s important to keep the principles of Leave No Trace in mind when selecting your elopement location at Indian Peaks Wilderness area to leave it looking gorgeous for future couples.
Brainard Lake is the first area you’ll see when you first enter the Brainard Lake Recreation area in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It is a pretty lake and it’s definitely the easiest option to get to if you aren’t looking to do any hiking on your wedding day, but it’s not my personal favorite in this area. I much prefer Long Lake or Lake Isabelle for their beauty. That said, it’s still a gorgeous location and definitely the easiest and most simple option for eloping at Indian Peaks Wilderness.
It’s a super easy hike to get from the Long Lake Trailhead parking area to the edge of Long Lake where the pretty little bridge is located. That forested area between the parking area and the lake is where I got lots of great photos for my clients eloping there in the past.
If you’re willing to walk or hike a little further, Lake Isabelle is super pretty! It is a 7.3 mile out and back hike though so this is probably best for those who are looking for more of an all day type of adventure for their wedding. Still, the dramatic mountain views up here are hard to beat!
And last, but not least there is also Mitchell Lake which is a nice compromise for couples who don’t mind hiking a little but don’t want to go quite as far as Lake Isabelle. It’s an almost 2 mile out and back hike to reach Mitchell Lake.
Boulder is only a 45 minute drive from the Brainard Lake and Indian Peaks Wilderness area so it would be easy to stay at a hotel there and drive up for your elopement. But, I also love the idea of camping overnight in the Indian Peaks Wilderness and staying right there for your wedding. Below are some of the options available for camping in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
If you’re like me and you have a trailer that you like to camp in (shout out to Gilda, my teensy lil Boler travel trailer), you’ll want to make reservations for the Pawnee Campground which is right there at Brainard Lake. Reservations to stay at the Pawnee Campground can be made at the Recreation.gov site. They have 47 different campsites with options for both reservations and first come first served for some dates as well. This campground is pretty primitive with vault toilets and no showers.
If you like to take a chance and just see what’s available when you arrive, there are some first come first served campgrounds like Rainbow Lakes Campground which is in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area but is about a 35 min drive south from the Brainard Lake area. You’ll find a full list of these campgrounds HERE under the Boulder Ranger District section. You can also apply for a permit to find a dispersed campsite. You only need to get a permit if you plan to camp from June 1st-September 15th. Since this article is all about weddings at the Indian Peaks Wildnerness Area I’m not going to go into too much detail on all of the different rules and regulations surrounding camping in this area, but you can definitely find more about it on their website listed at the top of this page.
I’d love to be your Indian Peaks Wilderness wedding photographer! I’ve been photographing weddings in Colorado since 2006 and you can find more information on the WEDDINGS page of my website. Take a look and then get in touch to tell me more about you and what you’re looking for!
Address: Brainard Lake Rd, Ward, CO 80481
Phone: (303) 541-2500