Bear Lake Trail
add photos3 Reviews for Bear Lake Trail
25
130 families found this helpful
"Stroller-friendly"
This is an easy hike with a flat, even trail that you can even take your jogging stroller on. It takes you on a scenic half-mile loop around the lake. There are a couple of easy hills. The crystal clear water is surrounded by mountain peaks, and you enjoy the view of Long's Peak. When we were there in October, there was a heavy snowfall, so the mountains were snow-capped. The parking lot was busy; there is a shuttle you can take if you park further out. There are several other trails you can take from here. This is a beautiful part of Rocky Mountain.
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0 families found this helpful
"Fantastic Family Trail!"
This is a wonderful, easy trail for families and has beautiful views. It's accessible except when there's snow on the ground. On our last visit, we were hiking on six feet of [packed] snow on the trail. It was fun, except we nearly fell into Bear Lake! :-) Be sure to stop and enjoy the quiet and the wildlife. This is one of the easiet trails in RMNP. The rangers and docents are quite knowlegeable; be sure to stop and visit with them!
'10, '11
4 families found this helpful
"Most scenery per foot..."
... in the entire Rocky Mountain National Park. The Bear Lake Trail is at the end of a road, maybe an hour from Estes Park. The trail is a roughly half-mile loop around the lake, either paved or hard packed. Most of it is fairly flat, though you go up and down a couple of hills, and is accessible by stroller if yours is fairly rugged. Anyone who's been walking more than a few months can make it around without much difficulty. The lake itself sits at the lower end of a grand valley, in a little bowl surrounded by mountain peaks (one of them the majestic Long's Peak) that create a breathtaking vista. The lake water is literally crystal clear, and you can often see trout lazing around the rocks. The area is accessible year round and is beautiful any time. The scenery is best of all in winter when the mountains are snow-capped, the air is crisp, and the traffic is light; however, the lake is frozen and usually snow-covered, so you have to take it on faith that it's there.
Like any easily accessible place of beauty, it's crowded in the summer tourist season, and you might want to park a couple of miles away and take the shuttle bus in to avoid spending too much time getting in and out of the parking lot. There are restrooms available, and I think I remember a water fountain and a very few picnic tables. And if you really like to hike, there are trailheads to three more lakes further up the valley, and they're even more spectacular in completely different ways. The lake is inside the park, so requires a $20 park admission fee.
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