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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