What strange times these are.
I don’t know about you all, but I’m definitely missing the mountains and my usual weekend warrior adventure schedule. I know I’m doing a lot of vicarious living right now through everyone else’s adventure posts, and I hope that I can provide the same for all of you. I have a backlog of posts queued up so, unless something changes, I plan to keep on with my weekly posting schedule.
My mom and I hiked this trail early last summer. I’ve complained a couple times already about the endless winter we experienced that year, and this was yet another instance in which we were forced to navigate snow. For anyone who’s never experienced this, hiking on snow is not easy. At all. But we made it, and now it’s a fun story to share.
Table of Contents
Alberta Falls
Since I discussed the first section of this hike in a previous post, I’ll just summarize here. From Glacier Gorge Trailhead, follow signs to Alberta Falls, located about 0.8 miles (1.2 km) and 200 feet (60 m) up the trail. Expect to encounter rocks, roots, a couple semi-narrow bridges, and probably some muddy sections along the trail. Other than that, it’s a relatively short and easy hike.
Alberta Falls was absolutely raging thanks to all the snowmelt. There is a closer viewpoint than the one shown below, and the sound and spray were greater than I’ve ever seen before or since. It was a truly tremendous amount of water spilling over the edge.
Mills and Jewel Lakes
Beyond the falls, take the right fork at the first junction and the leftmost fork at the 3-way junction, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the trailhead. This will put you on the path to Mills, Jewel, and Black Lakes. All the junctions are marked with signage and should be easy to havigate.
One this particular day, we made it to Mills Lake without encountering much snow. Due to the snowmelt, though, there was a lot of mud. Whenever you encounter mud, please be sure to walk through it rather than around it. Walking around widens and erodes the trails and tramples the vegetation. If you aren’t willing to get your shoes muddy, you shouldn’t be wearing them on a hike.
When the trail crosses a creek on a wooden bridge and crosses a series of granite slabs, you know you’re getting close!
Mills Lake was fully thawed and looked beautiful with the backdrop of Longs Peak and Keyboard of the Winds. There are many large rocks that extend out into Mills Lake, so you have your choice of picnic spots!
From Mills Lake, the trail continues along the shore toward the inlet stream, which very shortly connects to Jewel Lake. Jewel Lake is much smaller and marshier than Mills Lake, but it’s still a pretty location.
Black Lake
Beyond Jewel Lake, the trail passes through a marshy area on wooden planks that aren’t in very good shape… hopefully they will be replaced soon. (Update: they were replaced in 2022). Past this point, the trail becomes much steeper and more rugged. There were still many patches of snow, and we spent a good amount of time hiking through the remnants of a huge wind storm from 2011. There are downed trees everywhere; according to my RMNP hiking book, the storm pretty well destroyed the trail. Fortunately it’s been cleared and is easy to navigate now.
The last 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the path were pretty well obscured by snow, so I’m not certain we were actually on the trail the entire time. This is common with winter hiking, so navigation skills are important to avoid following a random set of footprints or otherwise becoming lost or disoriented.
We eventually linked back up with the trail alongside Ribbon Falls, which just might be one of the neatest waterfalls I’ve ever seen. It looks more like a waterslide, and the child in me really wanted to go sliding down it.
Beyond Ribbon Falls, the trail continues steeply up and around a rock ridge, behind which is Black Lake. This last section was definitely the steepest, most challenging part of the hike.
Black Lake was partially thawed and we found a nice large boulder near the lake to eat lunch, enjoy the view, and take a million photos, before retracing our steps through the endless snow. It was a wet and slippery trek; our microspikes mostly kept us from sliding around or falling, but my hiking boots were not nearly waterproof enough to keep my feet dry.
If you’re ever looking for a hike into Glacier Gorge that avoids some of the Sky Pond crowds while still leading to beautiful lakes, this would be my hiking recommendation for you!
There is also one backcountry campsite along this trail. It’s the most competitive backcountry permit in the park, but if you can secure it, it’s absolutely worth it. We were lucky enough to score this permit in 2022, and used the site as a base camp to explore Black Lake and beyond. You can read about that trip here.
Winter in Glacier Gorge
Alberta Falls, Mills Lake, and even Black Lake can be reached in the winter, though the terrain beyond Mills Lake can be avalanche prone and difficult to navigate. If you do plan to hike beyond Mills Lake in the winter, you’ll need the appropriate gear – meaning warm clothes, microspikes, and snowshoes – and training to make it there and back safely.
For photos and more information on these winter hiking routes, winter navigation, and safety, check out the following:
- Winter hiking in Glacier Gorge
- Winter at Black Lake
- Guide to winter hiking
- Visiting Rocky Mountain National Park
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: this hike departs from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead on Bear Lake Road; consider leaving your car at the park-n-ride in the summer and taking the free shuttle to the trailhead.
- Fees and passes: there is a $30/car daily or $35/car weekly entrance fee to RMNP; interagency annual passes are accepted. From May-Oct, if you arrive after 5:00am you will also need a timed entry permit to access this trailhead.
- Hiking: round-trip distance and elevation gain along the Glacier Gorge to Black Lake trail are as follows: Alberta Falls 1.6 miles (2.6 km) and 200 feet (61 m), Mills Lake 5.6 miles (9 km) and 800 feet (244 m), Black Lake 10-11 miles (16-17.7 km) and 1500 feet (457 m).
- Other: My mom and I are acclimated and experienced hikers and the hike to Black Lake took us 8 hours to complete. It rained and snowed on us (in late June), we navigated lots of snow, and we were exhausted. It’s a beautiful and worthwhile hike but definitely prepare for an all-day excursion, especially if there’s snow on the trail.
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