Rocky Mountain National Park - July 16, 2016

Rocky Mountain National Park - Estes Park, Colorado

Saturday July 16th, 2016

Boy were we tired!  This morning we slept in and got a late start to our day.  Our plan was to go back to the Bear Lake Trailhead and head further into the mountains.  We quickly realized that, since it was Saturday, the park was very busy and there was no way to drive up to the trailhead.  After a few bus rides, we found ourselves back at Bear Lake.  We headed up the trail to Nymph lake, a roughly 0.5 mile hike uphill, gaining about 245 feet in elevation.  This was a lot harder than yesterday since pretty much the entire trail was uphill, but with frequent rests, we made it to Nymph lake without much trouble.  Nymph lake gets its name from the many waterlilies that can be found all over the surface of this small lake.

Mom and Alorah taking pictures of Nymph Lake

View from the far side of Nymph Lake.

After Nymph lake, a 0.6 mile trail leads uphill to Dream lake.  This trail climbed another 200 feet in elevation.  Along the trail there were several places to stop and look at the tremendous scenery.  Near the lake, there was a mountain stream that made a mini-waterfall that was refreshingly cold to the touch.  Dream lake was a lot bigger than Nymph lake and had great views of the surrounding mountains.

Climbing along the trail.

Great view from the trail!

Refreshingly cool mountain stream!

Dream lake with Hallett Peak in full view.

Like I said in the video, Dream Lake was a great spot to sit and eat lunch.  Around this time, the weather started to change.  All of a sudden it got very windy and cool, and soon after it started to lightly rain.  This is typical in the mountains.  A ranger had told us to either go early or go late, not only to enjoy less crowded trails, but to also miss the potential rain or storms that arrive nearly daily in the mountains.  We began our last ascent to Emerald Lake, a 0.7 mile hike with an elevation gain of about 150 feet, but because of the weather, we decided to turn around.  Had we made it to Emerald Lake, we would have been at an elevation well over 10,000 feet above sea level.  Just before we turned around, we got a special treat as a yellow-bellied marmot decided to join us on the trail.  The hike back to the trailhead, about 1.2 miles downhill, was MUCH easier than go up.   We only hiked around 2.5 miles, but it was a lot different than hiking in Kentucky, Illinois, or even the mountains of Tennessee, and we were exhausted by trails end.

A yellow-bellied marmot decided to hike with us!

After our hike, we drove back into Estes Park for the evening.  We at dinner at the Estes Park Brewery and had a family outing playing putt-putt at my mom's favorite "Tiny Town."  To end the evening, we enjoyed another ranger-led night program, this one on "bird brains."  A great day!


For more information about the things we did, please visit:
Rocky Mountain National Park: https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
Nymph Lake Trail: http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/nymph-lake.htm
Dream Lake Trail:http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/dream-lake.htm
Estes Park Brewery:http://www.epbrewery.com/
Tiny Town Mini-golf:https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60945-d1813062-Reviews-Tiny_Town_Miniature_Golf-Estes_Park_Colorado.html

Notes to parents, from parents:

The trail to Nymph and Dream lakes is well maintained and in good condition.  It is a very popular trail and sees heavy use.  The elevation gain to the two lakes is about 500 feet, and at about 500ft/mile, it was similar in climb to our Ramsey Cascade hike in Tennessee.  A big difference, though, is that you are at 9500-10000 feet above sea level.  If you are coming from a "low" state, this may be more difficult than the milage shows.  Take it slow and drink plenty of water!  It is a very pretty hike.  We had planned on hiking to either Emerald Lake (1.8 miles) or Lake Haiyaha (2 miles), but with three children and the weather, we decided to cut our hike short.  

If you are adventurous, a nice loop hike of about 6 miles would be to start at Bear Lake, hike up to Nymph and Dream Lakes, and then head to Lake Haiyaha.  The hike from Dream Lake to Lake Hiayaha is (to a lowlander at least) fairly steep with several switchbacks, but it is gorgeous.  From Lake Haiyaha, you can catch a less used trail to the Glacier Gorge area (initially head towards The Loch), which could take you eventually to Alberta Falls.

Please be aware that there are several places with very steep drop offs and dangerous rock formations if you choose to climb them.  Overall, however, the trail is rated as "easy" and is pretty family friendly.