Lago Grey Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Geological Significance · Lake · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

(1)You are not allowed to smoke, light fires or use any types of stoves along the trail, only at designated places in official campsites.
(2) Water from any stream is good for drinking right out of the source.
(3) Grey Refuge and Paine Grande Refuge have a small market, a restaurant, nice bathrooms with hot showers and a kitchen for cooking (sinks and tables, bring your own stove and pots). You can only cook inside the kitchen. There is also the possibility to rent tents and other camping gear or stay in beds inside the refuge. Reservations for campsite or refuge can be made in advance, see: parquetorresdelpaine.cl/es/…. Paine Grande refuge is super windy and campsites are on a first-come, first-serve basis, so be sure to get there early if you want a good spot.

From the Paine Grande ranger station, run northwest through a scenic canyon and past pretty Los Patos Lagoon. Soon you can see Lago Grey to your left. Continue to the notoriously windy Grey Lookout, where you get an excellent view of Grey Glacier. Keep running toward the glacier through sometimes dense forests to Refugio Grey.

In the more open areas, you'll find a scrub composed mainly by Nirre, Calafate, Escalonia, Chilean Firebush and Discaria shrubs. During summer, yellow or white orchids from the Chlorea and Gavilea genus are commonly seen, as well as dandelions, llallantes and arvejillas. The forests are mostly comprised by Lenga and Coigue trees. Commonly seen birds are the Southern House Wrens, Thorn-tailed Rayaditos, Black-chinned Siskins, Patagonian Sierra Finches, Rufous-Collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlarks, Fire-eyed Diucons, Chimango Caracaras, Austral Thrushes and Austral Blackbirds. Pay attention to the sky to spot Andean Condors or Black-chested Buzzard Eagles flying high up or American Kestrels or Cinereous Harriers closer to the ground. You also might see Crested Ducks and Upland Geese in the lakes. Around the refuges and campsites it is very common to see the Southern Crested Caracaras and more rarely the Culpeo Foxes looking for food left unattended.