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I’ve done this loop hike several times; usually without going to Lake Haiyaha; this lake is pretty, but there is no shore; you have to climb over huge boulders to get to the lake, which is quite an unpleasant, balancing act. I would definitely skip this lake in the future, and maybe substitute Emerald Lake. The most scenic trail in this loop is the Lake Haiyaha cutoff trail to glacier gorge.
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Crowded trail but the scenery at the end makes it worthwhile.
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Quality alpine hike, multiple animal spotted, steep start, would start earlier than 0700 had to turnaround due to weather
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Beautiful hike with a steady climb all the way to the lake. No snow on, or even near, the trail until we got up to Bierstadt. A little muddy and a little wet but very managebale with waterproof boots.
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Made it to the lake Friday. Starting to open up. Weather pushed me back from trying to get closer to Bluebird lake- mile out.
Also attempted Lions & Thunder Lakes Saturday still a lot of snow, Difficult- within 2 miles - quit.
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Well worth the effort. But be aware that under current - late May / early June 2023 conditions the hike is not “easy” - especially for novice hikers - given that segments of the trail are still covered in snow and slush. Definitely rent spikes and poles. When we ascended the trail, a SAR team was extracting a very distressed boy who slipped, fell, and broke his ankle. Lots of folks slipping, sliding, and falling on their fannies.
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The views and mountains at sky pond are amazing. It was a busy trail, but I understand why
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Very cool in Winter. Bring Micro Spikes to walk on Lake. (Worth it) very cold and windy at the top.
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Fairly difficult hike due to the elevation gain in a short period of time but very rewarding. Worth continuing on to Sandbeach lake if you’re camping out in one of these backcountry sites like I was.
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This hike is beautiful because a majority of the hike is by water. So the sounds and sights are delightful. We went in the fall so the Aspens glowed yellow. I loved the 3 Calypso Cascades. and Ousel Falls. The hike was actually over 5.6 miles. Elevation gain was 1,062
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The views and mountains at sky pond are amazing. It was a busy trail, but I understand why
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Very pretty hike, easy. Through Aspen and pine woods. Several views of water and small falls along the way. Lots of people.
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Beautiful Hike covering lots of different features. Stunning views on the way up once you reach the new growth areas. The last mile can be more difficult for some climbers as it turns into more of a scramble, lots of rocks and less clear trail. Bluebird Lake is incredible and well worth the climb. We started at 7am, spent about 30 minutes at Bluebird Lake, and completed the hike around 2pm
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This has become our favorite hike in RMNP. Spectacular views and not crowded at all.
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This is a fabulous one way hike, starting at Bear Lake, ending at the Fern Lake shuttle stop. It passes four lakes; two rivers lake, lake Helene, Odessa lake, and Fern Lake. Lake Helene is the high point of the hike as far as elevation. From Lake Helene on, it’s all downhill. It is important to note that the Fern Lake shuttle bus stop is .7 miles beyond the Fern Lake trailhead. This made the total distance 9.5 miles.
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We’re not hikers and have little experience with elevation. We set out on a clear sunny August day. This trail was incredible with numerous scenic showstoppers. The constantly changing scenery kept us engaged to go to the next big feature. Hardest part for me was the glute buster stairway right before the waterfall scramble. The waterfall scramble was fun and very doable. Just take your time and look for the easiest route. If you get wet in summer as we did, it’s rather refreshing! We had to end our hike at the lake of glass, as we had an appointment to get back to, but we were feeling good and we’re very disappointed to leave without going all the way to sky pond. We were told by other hikers the hardest part was behind us, but of course we can’t say for sure how the final leg from lake of glass to sky pond is.
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Beautiful trail, perfect length and altitude gain, fun scramble at the end. Good facilities, well maintained trail.
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First major trip out after 2 nights in Denver and 1 Estes P. An un-acclimatised slog up through the woods and back.
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Great hike. Good elevation climbs then would level off for a quarter to half a mile before another climb.
Well maintained trail with not a lot of scrambling.
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Lake Helene is very scenic, but you can’t walk around the lake due to dense brush up to the lake’s edge. The trail takes you across the stream, then along the far edge of the lake. Continue until you get to the end of the lake, where are you can go up the hill and sit on rocks overlooking the lake from the far end. It is about 3 miles from Bear Lake with over 1200 vertical feet of elevation gain.
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This was an amazing hike. Lush forest and superior wildflowers. The ditch creek crossing was reasonable but needs water shoes or bear foot.
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Just beautiful and worth the uphill scramble. Breathtaking scenery. Also very crowded
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Couldn’t beat the break in the weather - especially with the storms coming over the next two days.
No snowshoes but absolutely should have beyond dream lake. Post-holed the the entire distance from Dream to Emerald. Very windy up top but bluebird day.
Avy conditions are wild right now so this was a safe alternative to get out and enjoy the day.
Access road was fine in AWD (Forester with all season tires).
Plenty of Elk and deer.
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As of early October 2021, still a lot of burnt forest along 3/4 of the hike to the falls. Really fascinating to see the forest and mountains after a burn in any case. The rock outcroppings around the falls make for really great bouldering. The meadows are gorgeous along the way. The trail is well kept but you’ll need something for help with the legs stones that make up a large part of the trail around the falls.
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Gorgeous views of the valley below on the way up. Be aware lake is still frozen solid and upper trail covered in snow when we went late May.
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Arrived Sunday 8/8/2021 just before noon. My wife and I took our 40- and 65-liter packs full of camping gear. Made it to the Boulderfield in 4 hours and set up camp. Water readily-available in the afternoon and evenings at the Boulderfield camping area. Ferociously windy with ~ 35F temps overnight. Sites are on the path through the Boulderfield so the early morning hikers will wake you up. Made coffee and breakfast and were on our way by 8am Monday 8/9. Very few others on the trail. Took a leisurely pace and reached the summit at few minutes past noon. Very smoky due to fires, poor visibility compared with past years. Good cell reception at 14,000ft, enough to send a victory pic. Made it back down to the Boulderfield site and relaxed for the afternoon. Made dinner and crashed early. Packed up and hiked down Tuesday 8/10.
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Tom Dewitz, Tom and Logan. Jeff was second hikemaster for our large group. Climbed to high point. Warm up on tundra. Lots of flowers. Stopped by pond area o way back.
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Started from TH at 6am and parked down the road as the lot was full. Great hike. We heard moose in the area past the group site, but didn’t see them (a group after us did!). Beautiful hike through the alpine tundra, lots of wildflowers including deep purple columbine. Gorgeous hike!
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Not that difficult, but you do have to rock scramble up a small waterfall to get to Lake of Glass. A pain if it is crowded.
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Great trail for families with kids. Be aware that you’re entering RMNP so there are no dogs allowed. We went during a year where the water was plentiful and all the smaller falls on the way to bridal veil kept everyone interested. The wildflowers and native grasses were diverse and absolutely beautiful. Despite being a Saturday on a holiday weekend the trail was not packed with hikers and we had bridal veil falls to ourselves for about an hour. Much of the trail is exposed but the cold creek water offers a reprieve for much of the hike.
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Moderate hike few trees across trail near lakes though many trees recently cleared. Steeper near lakes only 3 patches of snow today Don’t miss waterfall At Ypsilon lake and bring bug repellent. Most flowers around lakes.
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Great hike along roaring rivers! Just below Calypso Cascades very icy remnants of last winter snow.
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I hit this ranking by mistake and it wouldn’t let me change it… so I had to rate it for now and change it after we actually hike it on Monday.
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Unbelievably gorgeous. Snow l the way up. Spikes needed the last half mile to get to sky pond. Super steep and icy. Very windy at sky pond but fine everywhere else
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This trek was done on moderate snow with snow shoes. Great easy trek.
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51 degrees today, traction not needed but spikes would’ve been useful in a couple of spots. A little slop and slick in some spots but mostly packed snow.
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Nice hike, turned around before making it to the end due to getting a late start and temperatures starting to drop. Did the trail 1/21, snowshoes are definitely needed toward the later half of the trail.
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Was below zero, windy, frozen and devoid of people at 6am. It was perfect.
Microspikes were helpful.
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Early season conditions. Needed to unclip out of skins and carry over many obstacles. Route finding was hard.
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Ice, needed micro spikes. Windy AF. Views are killer.
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This was a great hike. Seeing both Loch & Mills lakes in one hike was really great. The views both along the trail and at the lakes were spectacular! I would consider the trail to be moderate and well maintained.
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Great hike along the river. Three different stops along the way to Ouzel Falls. Not too strenuous; did it easily with two little kids. I’d recommend getting there early as parking is somewhat limited. If you have to park at entrance lot, adds about 2 miles overall to the hike.
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Alberta Falls is gorgeous! Can get crowded quick so go early
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The stretch right before the lake (.25-.5 miles) may be a bit difficult when there is snow for the less experienced. But a great hike with a great view at the end.
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Less traveled side of RMNP. Offers an amazing view of the valley after a few miles in. And if you go all the way to Lake Verna you get beautiful forest covered trails.
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Lots of elevation gain. Beautiful views of the valley and the rest of the park. It does get quite breezy though
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Terrific hike. Trail is easy to follow. We only saw 2 others, who were RMNP staff, until we were almost back to the trailhead.
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Beautiful hike past three different lakes. Saw a few Elks along the way. Elevation change is moderate. If you arrive in the morning, plan on arriving very early as the parking lot fills up. Later in the day you might arrive just in time to catch the spot of someone leaving. There is also a shuttle.
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Perfect September weather! Cool morning, warm afternoon, gentle breeze, blue skies, and elk on the trail. Early snow has melted off and aspens are changing colors. Climbing up the falls is a bit wet, but not bad. Wildfire smoke has been present but minimal. Be prepared for crowds below the Loch on the way back, and 1/3 wear masks. Great hike.
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I do this loop every fall. Lots of streams and waterfalls and aspen trees.
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Very relaxed Hike with 7 guys.
Pretty long considering we stopped for pictures, food, & off trail exploring.
But the trail itself was moderate, the only thing that makes this ‘hard’ is the climbing up Timberline falls. Kinda sketchy going up and coming down. But aside from that, it’s all so worth it.
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Beauty was unbelievable. We hiked this one in the snow so the trail was icy and slow but the trail was well maintained and all the climbs had steps built into the trail.
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Well marked trails, easy to follow, out to Lake Helene. Beautiful views of the valleys and mountainsides along this route we took. There were still some small ice patches remaining a bit higher up. We had intended to go to Grace Falls (just beyond Lake Helene) but the spur trail on the Gaia Topo map leading to that spot did not appear to be correct based on what we found.
Although Rocky Maountain National Park is sees heavy traffic, we saw only a few people on his morning hike. Better to head out on a trail that gets you away from the Bear Lake Trailhead in this area. The tourists stay close to Bear lake, crowding the areas out to Nymph Lake and Dream Lake. We drove our car in, arriving at the Bear Lake Trailhead at 6:10AM. By the time we had our gear and walked away from the car at 6:25AM, the parking lot was full (about 250 spots I think).
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Truly a gorgeous loop in a remote part of Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail sections are nice (and nearly all jog-able); off-trail was interesting but never dicey. Good to have a high pressure system so that the second time over the Divide (west to east) wasn’t stormy.
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Arrived on Friday morning at 3 am and the lot was already full. Parked just outside of the lot along the road. Worth noting that this area is extremely popular for casual hikers, climbers, and backpacking so the area gets busy.
Mellow and very easy hike to start with a headlamp as the trail is incredibly well marked and groomed all the way up to the Boulder Field. Beyond that it's relatively well marked with spray painted bullseye along the route. After the keyhole you move along the Ledges, then the Trough, then the Narrow, and then the Homestretch. Each of these are somewhat different areas which keeps things interesting.
Worth noting the pictures and videos almost always make these named sections look much scarier and more difficult than they are. That said, do not take this hike lightly. It is long, physically demanding, and you spend a great deal of time above tree line without shade.
Bring:
* ~3 liters of water per person
* Plenty of snacks for a ~10 hour hike
* Extra layers as the temp/wind changes dramatically
* Gloves for scrambling and the cold wind
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Missed some recording. Scramble up to glass lake was packed. One sketchy part near the top.
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Tons of wildlife. Very beautiful hike. Pretty constant climb. Last bit to the summit was pretty tough. Need to break hard right lower than expect to the right. It’s a large runoff / trail straight up and a lightly traveled trail to the right
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This was one of my favorite hikes that I’ve done in RMNP. Waterfalls, lakes, wildlife, everything you want in a trail...and it wasn’t too steep. I used to design trails for the Forest Service. This was the best designed and maintained trail I’ve ever seen. We got to the trailhead around 10:30. It was a little crowded on the trail, as you would expect in RMNP, but the crowds thinned out the farther we went. We will definitely be coming back to this trail with the kids.
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Link of all the classic climbing routes on the most classic climbing formations in RMNP. We also tagged all the other summits from Longs to Notchtop.
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This very easy hike offers some spectacular views of the Mountain peaks in the Never Summer Range and Rocky Mountain National Park.
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Beautiful hike. Can see multiple types of vegetation and overlook several lakes. Well maintained path and easy to follow today..
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Hiked it June 20, no snow equipment necessary, just a few patches among the trees easily crossable. Great views, no technical sections, warm hat, gloves and windbreaker all needed on this trail. Big horn sheep and marmot and pica abound. Made it an afternoon hike and was the only one of the mountain, what a treat!
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This hike was awesome. It had all these places where could climb up and look about, there was this trail that went back to the falls and you could climb up on the rocks. I would recommend this hike to anybody!
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This hike was awesome. It had all these places where could climb up and look about, there was this trail that went back to the falls and you could climb up on the rocks. I would recommend this hike to anybody!
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A favorite hike on the tundra; easy going as long as no storms threaten.
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Starting at the trailhead before 02:00 am allowed plenty of time to make Chasm Lake by sunrise at 06:30. Astounding views of the Diamond on Longs Peak and also of Twin Sisters Peaks to the east.
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Great easy connection of several trails. Used the shuttle to allow one way. Great Lakes and majestic views of the gorges.
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Great hike along the Continental Divide above treeline. The views are incredible.
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Great hike. Considering the crowds in the park this trail had very little traffic. It's a fairly easy hike. There are a few places where the views to the east are good and once you get to the lake the mountain views are excellent.
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Very easy 3 mile hike in, nice campsite. There’s a lower campsite by the river beautiful sight as well.
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TUES 8/20/19> Starting hiking at 2:15am. about 20 cars there. First 6 miles is a nice hike (about 3000ft gain). Then the fun begins at the Boulderfield! It is real climbing from there. Slow and steady. Watch each foot placement and hand hold. Take your time and enjoy the rest of the way up!
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Everything up until the keyhole is very easy but takes a while. Save as much energy as possible because the real climb starts after the keyhole
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We started at 9 am. Done by 3.30 pm. Took shuttle bus from visitorscentre Estes across the street from the mcDonalds.
SO BEAUTIFUL.
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Beautiful! The falls are absolutely amazing. Hike is easy and well maintained trails.
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Summited Longs Peak via the Keyhole route on July 20, 2019. Route was in great shape, the trough was snowy in the middle, but easy enough to scramble around to the left side going up. The homestretch was totally clear, except for a few, easy to avoid wet patches. Started hiking at 215AM and got back to the car at 1245 PM!
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Spectacular hike to Pear Lake, 7/13/19. Only a couple snowfields left that we’re right before Pear Lake and we’re easily navigable w/out snowshoes. Lots of moose tracks, but no moose. We did see a really pretty golden colored Fox w/ black feet at Pear Lake. One thing to note, while it’s totally possible to make this hike from the Allenspark TH, their is no parking lot there anymore. Looks like someone has shut it down to the public, so we left from Finch Lake TH in Wild Basin of RMNP instead.
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This is a good family hike with exception of the last half a mile which is little Rocky.
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Challenging for inexperienced hikers, from the very onset of the hike it is uphill and strenuous. Once you hit the meadow there is a bit of a break from the constant uphill climb, however it does pick back up. After you completely pass the meadow you will reach a fairly large area that has been burned by a forest fire. The final stretch to granite falls is completely uphill with very rocky terrain.
The falls were beautiful, that was where my hike ended. It took my wife and I about 2.5 hours there, and about 1.5 back. We stopped occasionally along the way there, didn’t stop on the way back.
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My favorite hike. Very easy route. Bring warm clothes in summer
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Beautiful views and not too difficult of a hike with the grade being not too steep.
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I have done this hike in the summer, but just did it in mid-October and you should know that the parking lot at the trailhead is already closed for winter which adds and extra two miles RT to the hike. Also, it just took one snowfall to make the trail very icy about 30-50% of the way. Be prepared for winter hiking conditions!
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