Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park is a dream. In this case, literally, as my uncle and I are headed to Dream Lake on the recommendation of friends.
But Dream Lake is just one in a series of scenic bodies of water along this route — we park at the Bear Lake trail head, enjoy a picnic lunch, and then keep going to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and finally Emerald Lake before turning around to go back to the parking lot. Each part of this trek is spectacular.
And it’s my first time doing a proper winter hike. While the weather is relatively warm in Denver, the peaks around us here are covered in snow. We’re at around 9,500 feet elevation at the start of the hike.
Here’s the view from the parking lot, which is almost full when we arrive (in the summer months be sure to get an early start to guarantee parking):
Our friends Molly & Joe have generously lent us their MICROspikes. They are invaluable — while other hikers are slipping and sliding around us, we climb with confidence thanks to these bad boys:
This is Bear Lake, where we find a bench to sit for lunch:
We stopped at Whole Foods in Boulder on the way here to pick up sandwiches and snacks.
A few more shots of Bear Lake before we start the hike…
FYI, we discover there are multiple trails around the lakes we plan to visit — we go one way (to the left of this sign) but end up coming back a different way. The trail is not well-marked (perhaps snow covers up some of the signage?) but have no trouble finding our way.
Isn’t this stunning? It’s unlike any hike I’ve ever done. Again, the MICROspikes and ski poles are super helpful in keeping our balance.
Shortly after setting out we come across Nymph Lake:
We take an unintentional side detour around the south side of Nymph Lake and climb up a steep bank of snow to reach this vantage point:
A couple cozies up in their hammock while enjoying the view:
Looking down on Nymph Lake:
Heading to our next destination…
And here we are at Dream Lake:
While this is a huge lake in warmer months, we at least get a glimpse of the water:
Next we skirt around the frozen lake towards that groove of pine trees:
The sky is more overcast now, looking like it might snow:
Light snowflakes fall gently around us. It’s so perfect it feels like we’re on a movie set and the director just cued the snow.
Our final stop is just beyond that row of pines…
And there it is: Dream Lake!
Good thing we’ve made it too, as by now it’s around 4pm and we need to turn around before the sun gets any lower. There are fewer and fewer people around now. I love the isolation in these photos; we have the whole place to ourselves. Also, kudos to my uncle for wearing a bright jacket — it’s a lovely pop of color against the pristine white snow backdrop.
We made it!
Now for the return trip.
I may have (intentionally) slid down a few of the steeper hills on my butt. I feel like a little kid again.
“Do you wanna build a snowman…”
Like I mentioned earlier, we go back a different way (unintentionally) but have no problem getting back to the parking lot.
What a glorious day it’s been. Major thanks to our friends — VJ, Petie, Molly, Joe — who all said great things about this hike. I would love to return in the warmer months to see these lakes in their full glory! But even buried under snow, they are still quite beautiful.
And thanks to UD for driving us two hours each way from Denver! I’ve got a bunch more photos from our brief tour of the Rockies coming on Thursday. See you then!
