Echo Lake Lodge

Good view, convenient location to Mt. Evans, and an interesting gift shop are what make the Echo Lake Lodge. I found the food to be rather disappointing and over priced. My pulled pork sandwich was a decent size but had little flavor and the meat was chewy. The potato in the potato salad seemed under cooked. I didn’t bother ordering a slice of the famous «scratch made» pie because only the crust is scratch made, not any of the filling. Sort of seems like false advertisement to me. I’d only recommend going here if you absolutely must have food right before or after climbing Mt. Evans. There are better and cheaper options in the nearby Idaho Springs.

I stopped by Echo Lake Lodge with a friend last summer, and although I ogled the pies in the case, I didn’t order any. I had been thinking about those pies ever since (because I have issues and an intense sweet tooth). The girl at the counter told me they were fresh baked every day, and I could only imagine how good a fresh baked pie baked by a pro on that level must be. Right?
Ha.
Reasons to visit Echo Lake Lodge: the view. The beautiful drive up. The quirky gift shop.
Not the pie though. I ordered blueberry with vanilla per the recommendation of the waitress. The large party seated behind me was raving about their pies, so my expectations were high. Man, what a letdown. It tasted like canned pie filling. The crust was bland and lacking in the texture department, and even the ice cream was flavorless. I refuse to accept it though, so I intend to return just to try another flavor. Chocolate peanut butter next time. Pray for me.

After a 25 me home decided to stop here and grab beers. We thought it was a good idea but our waiter did not. He served us but was so rude! Place wasn’t even busy but he printed out our ticket and hastily slid it across the table and said we could pay whenever we were ready. 10 minutes passed and he did the same thing. Printed out a ticket and told us to pay when we were ready. I don’t know if he was upset because we only ordered drinks but when dining out we make it well worth your while if we get the service we deserve. What a rude ass. Told the cashier on the way out how much of a jerk he was and the cashier straight up told us that this was the rudest man ever that gets pissed when he has to serve anyone. He even went so far to tell us a few stories about Mr. Grumpy-​pants. We had such a great day we decided not to let it bother us. If I owned the echo lake lodge I would immediately fire that man for treating customers like that. How could you have someone like that working for you, driving all your customers away and bringing your business down?!?

If you are going up to Mount Evans, to hike Echo Lake, or just want to see a part of Colorado mountain history, you should not pass up Echo Lake Lodge. It is located at 10,000 feet, at the entrance to the Mount Evans Auto Road. The Lodge has a restaurant, which I hear has very good pie, though we did not eat there. It is an amazing structure, built at a time when cars could not drive up the mountain from Denver and back in one day. There were rooms for guests on the second level which are still there. Much of the lodge’s first floor is a souvenir shop, which just happens to sell little cans of oxygen for those not accustomed to the altitude!

It is wonderful to stop in after a hike, for homemade soup, chili, sandwiches, and to top it off, a piece of wonderful homemade pie. Everyone is so nice, Barb is delightful.

I Like This Place. Sit at the little bar and have a beautiful view of the lake. They do have a selection of craft beer in bottles or have a hot chocolate on a cool day to warm you up. Wonderful spot to watch the amazing sunsets over the lake and relax. The staff are always friendly and welcoming. Ask them to tell you about the clown pictures upstairs in the old lodge. Check it out before or after you trek up mt evans. the highest paved road in North America!

Stopped in for lunch on my way to summit. They offer a wonder gift shop which can help you stock up on souvenirs, gear for the mountain hike, and of course grub. The restaurant itself is a nice size. To me the food was just ok, I opted for the $ 9.95 BLT with sweet potato fries. I felt the BLT could have had more bacon and I wasn’t impressed with the bacon aoili on the sandwich. The fries however were pretty tasty. My friend and I split a bowl of bison chili with a big Olé slice of cornbread and I had to add a lil bit of salt and pepper to it. I would have given the place more stars just for the character of the place, but the dining room had flies that I had to keep fanning away while I ate. Great views, friendly staff, awesome location. But I’m wasn’t the biggest fan.

The place is cool looking and rustic. It looks like a set-​piece from a Twin Peaks episode. The view out the windows was great and hummingbirds flitted and capered in the brisk alpine air. Then the food came and it was awful. The buffalo chili tasted like cheap canned chili. The french dip was fatty and mostly gristle. Service was slow and curt. Stinkeroo.

Stopped in to escape the rain and get a cheesy souvenir. Sat at the bar and chatted with a pleasant bartender about the circumstances that led to the closure of Evans Road. I got an ice cold beer (dales pale ale in a can) and was tempted to take a swig of Coors Banquet (when in Colorado give real Coors a shot?). The view from the bar is nice and the atmosphere is friendly and cozy. I chatted with the fellow patrons who were grabbing a drink or a coffee.
Ended up taking the coconut crème pie to go. Glad I did.
A simple place to grab a bite and a drink either heading up the mountain or down. I saw a sign claiming patrons were limited to 2 alcoholic drinks in a visit. Not sure if its enforced, but gives you the idea its a place to rest, not necessarily to drink.

If you could give negative stars this place would definitely be deserving of a few. The experience started with a very rude host who informed us it’s going to be a while after we sat down. It continued on to a one hour wait to place our order and 3 ½ hours total to get our food. It was so bad we got up and got her own coffee and even poured coffee for other people that were waiting. People were leaving left and right. It was not even crowded. When we finally got our food it was absolutely horrific! We actually went up there to get the pie that in the past has been pretty good. I got coconut cream and the dairy was spoiled. I ended up running for the restroom and throwing everything up. What a way to spend Labor Day weekend, absolutely sick to your stomach. Then, they turn around and charge you $ 75 for four people. If it wasn’t for the tourists that are trapped up on top of the mountain there is no way in hell this restaurant would stay open. If you planning on going up to Mount Evans, be sure to pack your lunch. You’ll be way better off in the long run! Sorry, have to run to throw up again! Too bad the health department isn’t open this late on a Saturday. I will definitely be calling on Tuesday morning.

My husband ate here after traveling to and from the summit of Mt, Evans on our anniversary. I had the fried trout and my husband had the chicken pot pie with steamed broccoli, We ordered pieces of peach and cherry pie to go. This is an excellent restaurant that hits the spot after a white knuckle drive. I love the attached gift shop too with a wide variety of souvenirs.

Crazy good, hyper-​retro mountain destination.
Hearty, down home fare served up by locals and internationals, PLUS an authentic camp-​like dining room are only 3 of the countless reasons you NEED to make the drive to ECHO LAKE LODGE! Come for the PIES, stay for the non-​dessert food, and then check out the fabulous souvenir shop. The people who work here are friendly, they’re happy to tell you about the lodge’s history. Echo Lake is nearby as is Mt. Evans. Biking, cycling, driving, hiking, camping are all nearby.
TOURISTY? OF COURSE IT IS — BUT, IN AN HISTORICALLY MAJOR GOOD WAY!
Add this one to your ‘MUST DO’ list.

I’m a fan of their buffalo chili — a steaming, hot bowl with a giant chunk of homemade cornbread after tromping around in the chill of Mt. Evans and Echo Lake? Yes, please. We’ve been here at least two dozen times. It’s an independent, seasonal, mountain diner. You are not going to get gourmet. Go for the hearty soups or chili, coffee, and a piece of pie. The crust is very yummy, although I tend to go for the cold ones, usually the peanut butter chocolate, so I can’t speak to the homemade-​or-​not filling of the fruit ones reviewed here. It’s not fast food by a long shot. If you’re in a hurry, forget it. If you wanting to unplug and chat, breathe deeply and watch hummingbirds, wait for a window table. The doors to this place are always open, so in the summer you will be getting a fly occasionally. (Try not to look up under the curtains at the fly paper.) The gift shop is all kitcsh, but the log walls and the insane black velvet clowns in frames high above (where it appears rooms were once for rent?) are in a class all their own.

Made my yearly trip to Chicago Lakes and stopped in at the Echo Lake Lodge for lunch after. I have been here many times and am always pleased. This year they have home made pie. That was not the case in years past. Who doesn’t like home made pie. You could go here just for the pie and be happy.
The food is very good. Not great, but solid good food. My biggest problem is deciding what to order. They have several of my favorites. I had the Reuben this time, but I could have easily had the Fish-​n-​Chips, Steak Sandwich, numerous burgers, French Dip. They are all good.
They don’t get 5 stars though for a couple of reasons. First, as stated, the food is good not great. Second, the service is not always the best. Friendly, yes, but not speedy at all. Expect to spend a lot of time here. That is not a bad thing though. The view is great. The dining room is quaint and cozy. If you are waiting for a table, the gift shop is one of the best in the state. You don’t go here for a quick bite. You go here for a relaxing meal after a 9 mile hike up to Chicago Lakes.

Stopped in for lunch with my wife on a cold August day with lots of hail and sleet outside. (It was snowing hard up on the mountain.) Good sturdy food and great service. The dining room has great character. I had buffalo chili and my wife had a turkey salad sandwich. We shared a slice of coconut cream pie. I’ve gotta go back and try the pan fried trout and butterscotch pie. Snow in August!

We went there today for lunch and ordered burgers. There isn’t much else on the menu. I ordered the Bacon Bleu and Mushroom burger. The burger patties were all overcooked, hard, dry, and tasteless. The french fries and tater tots were undercooked (the fries were raw in the middle), greasy, soggy, and unsalted. The bleu cheese they put on my burger was a very low quality, weird sliced bleu cheese – and I’ve never seen bleu cheese slices before. It didn’t taste much like real bleu cheese. The bacon was strange looking, but okay. I wonder where they got it because the edges were perfectly straight, which I’ve never seen when I buy bacon at the store.
Given that the burgers were $ 11-​$ 13, this was a horrible value.
Lastly, even though only half of our food was even eaten because it was so bad, the waitress didn’t even bother to ask us if there was something wrong with the food.
Overall: Avoid this place. Take a picnic lunch up to Mt. Evans instead.

I really wish I was warned about this place. First off, waiting for a table for two took about 20 minute, which is not a big deal since it was during the weekend/​holiday. We ordered chili fries as an appetizer– the fries were stale (or too hard, over-​fried maybe?) and underseasoned. Completely mediocre chili over those fries and they didn’t bother to melt the cheese.
Our burgers came 40 minutes later. No exaggeration. During this time, I was busy swatting at a fly that kept circling around the table. The waitress was a sweet gal and apologized for the wait.
I wish I left before our food came. Our burger patties tasted of FISH, and the tater tots were undercooked (cool in the middle, and overly firm). I had to spit out a bite of my burger.
Nasty food– would advise anyone to go elsewhere!

This place seems to be the only place to eat on the way up to the mountain, so it gets crowded pretty easily. Service is pretty good, but the food is alright, the usual-​burgers, salads, etc. But the special chicken pot pie was delicious! And make sure to get a lice of their fresh homemade pies! :))

Recently moved to Denver and have gotten in the habit of haphazardly driving west into the mountains to find interesting day hikes. The other day my wife, a friend, and I stumbled across Echo Lake. The lake is obviously beautiful, the little trail around it is nice, but we wanted a bit more and hiked into the trails which had just opened but were covered in a few feet of powdery snow. We spent a few hours tromping through before unexpectedly finding Echo Lake Lodge.
We were in shorts, soaked, and a bit bloody about the legs…
So a heated building offering warm pie with dollops of ice cream was a welcome surprise. We walked through the kitschy gift shop –to be expected in this sort of place– to a small bar with stools.
We were greeted by a very friendly outgoing staff that treated us like locals, we met a man that comes there every sunday who shared some great travel tips, and then we had some amazing pie. Apple for me, blueberry for my wife, and peach for my friend. We all loved the pie, but the vibe of the place –in the bar area– is what made it special for us.
I would definitely return, I suggest sitting up at the bar and chatting with the people behind the counter, the people are what make this place.

I have to give the Echo Lake Lodge gift shop 5 kitchsy stars. Where else can you please your tourist friends, buy a housewarming present, and enjoy beautiful scenery at the same time? Oh, and did I mention they have black velvet clown paintings? Yeah, it’s that good.
The shop is an amazing/​amusing combination of Rocky Mountain décor, like carved wooden bears, chipmunks, and mountain creatures, antler magazine racks, tipsy gnome wine bottle holders, cheap jewelry, the typical «Colorado» souvenirs, and a side room of gag gifts and antique/​flea market goodies, books, and knickknacks. Forget your shoes? You can also purchase a pair of crocs, which are surprisingly popular in Europe.
I’m pretty sad that we had breakfast in Evergreen right before we drove up, because I had no room for their famous pie or even a cup of coffee.
I totally get that it’s a tourist trap, but for me that’s what makes is so hilarious. I bought my sister a prairie dog lawn ornament, and my mom supported the economy by purchasing some socks and a few maps. Whee!
PS — You can walk straight from the lodge down to Echo Lake, a quick hike that shouldn’t be missed.