Hiking Trails in Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain National Park is an alpine hiker’s paradise. Trails of all lengths and difficulties lead to hundreds of beautiful features. We personally have only scratched the surface of what is here, but below we present some of what we have seen. They are mostly of the dayhike variety.

Hiking distances given below are total, roundtrip distances unless otherwise stated. Difficulties are only a general guideline, for an adult in good condition, and do not take into account trail length. We strongly recommend you also have a good TRAILMAPLINK with you.

Adams Falls

• Trail Length: 0.6 miles out and back
• Trail Difficulty: Easy
• Trail Traffic: Medium
• Finding the Trailhead: This hike starts from the East Inlet Trailhead parking area, located near the town of Grand Lake on the west side of the park. Follow the boat launch signs on West Portal Road to the trailhead.

The Hike: This short trail is relatively easy, and leads quickly to this falls on East Inlet Creek. For those entering the park from the Grand Lake side, this is the best choice for a first hike in the park.

Alberta Falls

• Trail Length: 1.8 miles out and back
• Trail Difficulty: Moderate
• Trail Traffic: Very Heavy
• Finding the Trailhead: This hike starts from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead parking area. In summer it will almost certainly be necessary to ride the shuttle to this extremely popular trailhead.

The Hike: This is a hike that can be taken for as long as you like. The trail leads to many outstanding destinations, but one of the shortest and easiest is to Alberta Falls, perhaps the most popular hiking destination in the park.

Emerald, Dream, and Nymph Lakes

• Trail Length: 3.6 miles out and back
• Trail Difficulty: Moderately Difficult
• Trail Traffic: Very Heavy
• Finding the Trailhead: This hike begins from the Bear Lake parking area at the end of the Bear Lake Road.

The Hike: This highly scenic trip packs four lakes into one hike of less than 2 mile one-way. It starts at Bear Lake, skirts Nymph Lake at 0.5 miles and Dream Lake at 1.1 miles, before finally arriving at Emerald Lake at 1.8 miles. This hike has a lot of uphill, and given the 10,000 foot elevations can be quite difficult for those not prepared for the altitude.

Sprague Lake

• Trail Length: 0.5 mile loop
• Trail Difficulty: Easy
• Trail Traffic: Heavy
• Finding the Trailhead: This hike begins from the Sprague Lake parking area off of Bear Lake Road.

The Hike: This is a simple loop hike that wraps around Sprague Lake. This is a very popular and easy walk to some great views. The best views, with the mountains in the backdrop, are from the back part of the loop.