diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/stage.py b/lib/spack/spack/stage.py
index 3887af4dadd..9a0d5fdf3f2 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/stage.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/stage.py
@@ -155,6 +155,8 @@ def __init__(
         if lock:
             self._lock_file = join_path(spack.stage_path, self.name + '.lock')
             if not os.path.exists(self._lock_file):
+                directory, _ = os.path.split(self._lock_file)
+                mkdirp(directory)
                 touch(self._lock_file)
             self._lock = llnl.util.lock.Lock(self._lock_file)