Leaf Peeping Trip in Colorado – Part I RMNP

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Do you have an annual tradition? For me, it seems to be having girl’s trip with Kim every September to visit US national parks in recent years. According to dictionary.com, tradition is the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice. Though it’s only started in recent years, I do hope it’s something we can continue doing for years to come😊.

Last year we headed to the state of Colorado and had a successful week long leaf peeping trip🍁! Below is a map which roughly summaries our trip route. We flew to Denver where we rented our car for the week and headed toward our first stop, Rocky Mountain National Park. From there, we stopped by Glenwood Springs area to pay a visit to the beautiful hanging lake. Aspen is our third stop where we explored the Maroon Bells and independence pass area (Note: if you plan to travel from Oct-May, this road is closed). We then drove toward Great Sand Dunes National Park and had a fun sandsledding experience for the first time 😊. Garden of Gods is our final stop where we saw some interesting rock formation.

Here is our 2 day itinerary in rmnp. The leaf turning was a bit slow in the region in 2019, but the hike up to alpine lakes was nevertheless still breathtaking ( yes, pun intended 😜)

Day 1 Sky Pond day hike (7 lakes + 2 waterfalls, started from bear lake trailhead)

To reach sky pond, you can either start from Glacier Gorge trailhead ( which is about 9.8 miles round trip), or start from Bear Lake trailhead, like we did. Yes, you are adding about 4 more miles to your hike, but you will see five more beautiful lakes 🙂

Note: This is a strenuous hike, if you experience any altitude sickness, the only cure is turning back and heading down to lower elevation. Also, in addition to the route we took, I also included the actual miles from trailhead for each hike, so you can decide which point to stop depending on your comfort level.

From bear lake trailhead, we started the nature walk loop at Bear Lake (0.5 miles, easy).

At the end of the loop, we continued to Nymph lake for another 0.6 mile (1.2 mile round trip from bear lake trailhead, easy). The lily pond had no flowers this time of the year, but it’s still beautiful. Note: we didn’t see signs for this lake, but if you see a lake like the one below, it’s Nymph lake.

Dream Lake is coming up next after 0.4 mile and it’s known for sunrise if you can get up early (2 mile round trip from Bear Lake trailhead, easy).

To get to dream lake, take a right at the junction, and it’s located just one hundred yards beyond.

Emerald Lake is our next stop.

In my opinion, Dream Lake is more beautiful than emerald lake ( 0.7 mile away from the junction, 3.4 mile round trip from Bear Lake trailhead, moderate), so I would recommend skipping it and return to the junction to continue hiking to lake Haiyaha (3.6 mile round trip from bear lake trailhead, moderate)

After 0.6 mile steep incline through a pine forest, we reached another junction. Go straight ahead until you reach large boulders.

Large Boulders near The End of The Trail

There’s no obvious trail from this point, just keep going further and you will see the lake surrounding with rocks. That’s why it named lake Haiyaha, it means big rock.

Return to junction. From here, you can choose to return to the trailhead from the original route. But I would recommend going down through Loch -Mills junction. You will pass by the beautiful Alberta falls on your way back if you continue down Glacier Gorge trailhead after passing the junction.

Loch – Mills Junction is The Better Choice 🙂

Once you reach Loch-Mills junction, the hiker can choose to go up to Sky Pond ( 9.8 mile round trip from glacier gorge trailhead) or head back to Glacier Gorge trailhead. We chose to charge on.

From here, it’s 0.8 mile to reach Loch Vale ( 6 mile round trip from Glacier Gorge trailhead, moderate). The trail became quite steep and there’s several switchbacks on the way to Loch Vale. Once you reach Loch Vale, look closely into the lake, and you will able to spot some trout. Also, look for Taylor Glacier which is straight across from the lake.

Loch Vale, A Good Spot to Stop for Lunch

If it’s already late afternoon when you reach Loch Vale, I do not recommend continuing up to sky pond if you are not an experienced hiker since you might need to take a lot breaks due to steep stairs, wet and rocky roads and will end up hiking in the dark on the way down. Timberline Falls is another mile away from Loch Vale (8 mile roundtrip from Glacier Gorge trailhead) and is rated as a strenuous hike.

Steep stairs on the way to Timberline Falls

Icy, wet and rocky road on the way to Timberline Falls

From here, the rest of the trail to Sky Pond is not well marked. You might mistake Lake of Glass(the first lake you see after the fall) as Sky Pond. Continue hike along the lake and you will eventually reach your final destination.

You will need both hands and feet to climb up and down sky pond

On the way back, we returned via Glacier Gorge trail and saw the beautiful Alberta falls(0.6 mile from glacier Gorge trailhead, easy). At the end of the trailhead, you can either hike 0.4 mile back to Bear Lake trailhead or ride the shuttle back. Be sure to check the shuttle schedule if you choose to do the latter.

Day 2 – Scenic Drive

On day 2, we decided to give our legs a break and did a couple scenic drives. I recommend driving up Old Fall River Road first since it’s a one way road and coming down via Trail Ridge road, that way you are not driving through the same road twice. There are quite a few stops along both drives, you can visit them depends on your schedule. Since we had a whole day planned for driving, we also drove pass grand lake area where we spotted the first fall colors of our trip! If time allows, be sure to attend a few ranger’s talks/hikes too, I often found them informative and interesting.