Cataract Lake Loop Trail is in the northern Gore Range

Gore Range

The Gore Range is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado in the United States. The range runs for approximately 60 miles northwest-to-southeast, through western Grand and Summit counties, and eastern Routt and Eagle counties...

, part of the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

 in the US state of Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It is located in the Eagles Nest Wilderness

Eagles Nest Wilderness

The Eagles Nest Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Gore Range near Vail, Copper Mountain, Frisco, Silverthorne, and Heeney, in Summit and Eagle Counties Colorado. Eagles Nest Wilderness falls within the jurisdiction of Dillon Ranger District and Holy Cross Ranger District, White...

 in Summit County

Summit County, Colorado

Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...

. Cataract Lake Loop Trail is north of Interstate 70

Interstate 70

Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...

, west of Highway 9, north of Silverthorne

Silverthorne, Colorado

The Town of Silverthorne is a Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous town in Summit County, Colorado. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,610.-Geography:...

 and near Heeney

Heeney, Colorado

Heeney is a census-designated place in northern Summit County, Colorado, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 76.It is situated on the hillside along the west side of Green Mountain Reservoir, in the valley of the Blue River, between Kremmling and Silverthorne. It is accessible...

.

Cataract Lake rests at an elevation of about 8,600 feet. Eagles Nest Peak, elevation 13,342 feet, is the rock formation west of the lake that inspired the name of this wilderness area. Cataract Lake Loop Trail begins across Cataract Creek at the eastern shoreline of Cataract Lake. Southeast of Cataract Lake, the Williams Fork Range can be viewed across Green Mountain Reservoir

Green Mountain Reservoir

Green Mountain Reservoir lies at the northern end of Summit County, Colorado along the Blue River. Built between 1938 and 1942 as part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, the reservoir and its dam store water that is diverted to the cities in the Front Range Urban Corridor...

and the Blue River. Greatest Hikes in Central Colorado: Summit and Eagle Counties, a hiking guide by Kim Fenske, provides a description of Cataract Lake Loop Trail.

The area surrounding Cataract Lake is a transition from high desert to an alpine environment. Therefore, visitors can enjoy a range of communities from open views of sagebrush fields, aspen meadows coated with the colors of wildflowers, and nearly-impenetrable conifer forests of lodgepole pine, spruce, and fir.