Mills Lake via Glacier Gorge Trailhead
Larimer County, Colorado
Details
Distance
5.24 miles
Elevation Gain
940 ft
Route Type
Out-and-Back
Description
Added by Eric Schuette
Enjoy the sunset at one of Rocky Mountain National Park's most scenic alpine lakes. Avoid most of the crowds that leave the area in the afternoon and head here for sunset. There are options to continue much further into Glacier Gorge to many more lakes and scenic locations. In the winter, some distance can be cut off by using the winter shortcut.
Start hiking at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead down the bear lake road in rocky mountain national park. The trailhead is very popular so it can be difficult to find a parking place at times. From Glacier Gorge, follow the obvious trail and signs towards mills lake.
In the summer the trail will go past Alberta Falls (0.85 miles from the trailhead) and continue climbing through forest with occasional views of longs peak and the glacier gorge cirque. At just over 2 miles the trail will split, the right heads toward Loch Vale and Left Heads to Mills Lake (this is also the spot the winter trail rejoins the main trail). From the junction, it is only another 0.5 miles to Mills lake. From here, you can also continue around Mills lake to the smaller and grassier Jewel lake. During the winter, the ice is usually safe/thick enough, although check for yourself, to cross and enjoy.
The winter trail heads up a small valley at the 4th bridge you cross from the trailhead. It cuts off almost a mile from the hike and is usually well traveled and easy to follow unless a large storm moved through the area recently.
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Nearby
The Loch Vale Hike
The Loch Lake Trail via Glacier Gorge Trail
Sky Pond via Glacier Gorge Trailhead
Green Lake via Glacier Gorge Trail
Alberta Falls Trail
Black Lake Trail
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