Colorado, Colorado Hikes, Colorado Summits, Rocky Mountain National Park, US National Parks

Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Mount Ida

Diana

Summiting Mount Ida turned out to be a ‘third time is the charm’ type situation for us. We wanted to climb it our first summer in Denver, but forest fire smoke severely limited visibility for much of the summer and we weren’t about to walk along the Continental Divide and not be able to see anything. Our second planned attempt was in mid-June 2019, for which I made campground reservations nearby so we wouldn’t have to leave Denver at 3:30am to get to the trailhead. But thanks to the never-ending winter of 2019, there was still 3-4 feet (1-1.3 m) of snow obscuring the trail a week prior to our planned hike, so we cancelled our plans.

Finally, on the last weekend in June 2020 – which also happened to be my birthday – we made it! And in addition to completing this hike, I’m fairly certain Mother Nature knew it was my birthday because Colorado really went out of its way to make it an amazing weekend!

We had a great lake front campsite.

Stillwater Campground site #113
The leftmost mountain that’s dotted with snow is Mount Ida

Then a massive thunderstorm rolled in and spent the next hour threatening to blow our tent away while we hid in the car. But then it cleared up and by the end of the evening, the sky put on quite the amazing show!

Completely unedited and unfiltered; the colors were unbelievable!

On Saturday morning, we saw 9 moose on our drive to the trailhead. And as if that wasn’t already a ridiculous number of moose to see in one day, we saw 14 more on our drive back to the campground that afternoon!

I didn’t take any moose photos, but I did take an early morning photo from our campsite

But anyway, Mount Ida.

The trail begins on the Continental Divide at Milner Pass, which is approximately equidistant from Estes Park at the east end of Trail Ridge Road and Grand Lake at the west end. Because most of the trail is above tree line and completely exposed, it’s very important to start early and turn back at any sign of storms. Colorado summer afternoon thunderstorms are no joke, and there’s absolutely nowhere safe to hide if one rolls in and you’re in the middle of the tundra. The weather forecast was for a mostly sunny day with minimal chance of storms but we started early nonetheless, stepping onto the trail just after 6:30am.

The first mile (1.6 km) of this trail was the hardest part for me. It’s steep as it climbs past some unique rock spires on its way up to tree line. While granite is the predominate rock type in the area, these spires are made of a colorful, coarse igneous rock called pegmatite. Pegmatite contains many of the same minerals as granite, but the crystals are much larger; this accounts for both the color and the coarseness. Geologically speaking, these pegmatite spires are dikes, formed when molten sediments and minerals seeped into cracks in the surrounding granite and were pushed upwards.

Pegmatite dikes

After about a mile, the trail forks. For Mount Ida, stay right and continue through the remainder of the forest and out into the tundra. Hiking above tree line is one of my favorite things. I love the tiny tundra plants and flowers. I love the expansive skies and wide open landscapes. I love the fluffy marmots and especially the adorable pikas, and we saw a bunch of each. I spent the next three miles (4.8 km) taking dozens of photos.

Alpine Sunflower, also known as Old Man of the Mountain; there were 100s of them!
You can just barely see the summit of Mount Ida in the middle, poking over the curvature of the tundra
Looking back down the trail toward the Never Summer Mountains

About a mile from the summit, the trail begins to peter out in the rocky landscape. We were still able to kind of follow a vague path, but as long as you stick to the rocks (rather than stepping on the delicate tundra plants) and keep walking toward the summit (which you can see), you’ll get there eventually. At this point in the hike, we also found ourselves closer to the ridge; we now could see over to the east and down into an alpine valley dotted with lakes.

As Pat and I rock hopped our way up a particularly steep section, we ran into Chelsea who – coincidentally – had texted me a couple days earlier asking if I was free to hike that weekend. I’d told her I couldn’t since we’d be camping, and neither of us mentioned the hikes we were planning. And yet here we both were, so it turned out we got to hike together after all! Sometimes the world really is very small.

After catching our breath, the three of us made our way to the summit and found it occupied by only one other person and a handful of marmots. They didn’t seem to mind our presence but they also didn’t attempt to steal our food, so all of us were able to coexist peacefully. While much of hike had been windy – not unusual at this elevation – the summit was remarkably calm, so we spent quite a while taking photos and enjoying the 360° views, including some of the hidden Gorge Lakes which can only be seen from this vantage point.

This area of Rocky – a substantial portion of Rocky, actually – burned in the recent fires that have ravaged our state. Much of the terrain between our campsite and this trailhead was in the path of the flames, and in one location the fire jumped the mountaintops and burned down two drainages on the other side of the park. I haven’t been back to this area of Rocky to see the aftermath, but I have to assume that the views from Mount Ida look quite different now. I’m thankful we were able to complete this hike before the fires, but heartbroken at the amount of destruction Colorado has suffered these past few months.

Looking southwest; from near to far – marmot, Lake Julian, Kawuneechee Valley, Shadow Mountain Lake and Lake Granby, and the Gore Range
Looking east over the Gorge Lakes; Azure Lake (lower right) is mostly snow-covered while Inkwell Lake (just left of center) is beginning to thaw
Looking north to the Never Summer Mountains
Mount Ida handstand

At some point on the hike back, we got completely off trail. I think. It’s easy to do, given the relative lack of trail near the summit. But we could see where the actual established trail was off in the distance, so we just picked our way through the rocks until we caught up to it again.

This is not the trail. Or maybe it is. There’s not really a defined path this close to the summit.

From there, it was a straightforward hike back to the trailhead. Multiple people and a handful of internet lists designate Mount Ida as the best hike in Rocky. I still really love Chasm Lake, but Mount Ida has definitely solidified its place near the top. The views are second to none, and it was definitely a beautiful place to celebrate my birthday!

The Important Stuff:

  • Getting there: the Mount Ida trail departs from Milner Pass/Poudre Lake just west of the summit of Trail Ridge Road. Regardless of which side of the park you enter from, it may take you close to an hour to reach this trailhead, so arrive very early

  • 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 between 9:00am-2:00pm you will also need a timed entry permit to access this trailhead

  • Hiking: round-trip distance is 9.8 miles (15.8 km) with 2522 feet (769 m) of elevation gain; strenuous due to the elevation

  • Other: as mentioned above, the majority of this hike is through the tundra with absolutely no shelter from the elements, so pay very close attention to the weather and be prepared to turn around if storms approach

For more information on visiting the park and hiking safety, see my Rocky Mountain National Park post

Published by Diana

Hiking, road-tripping, and handstanding my way around the US (currently) and the world (hopefully in the not-so-distant post-COVID future… if such a thing exists)

44 thoughts on “Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Mount Ida”

  1. Pingback: Colorado State Parks: State Forest – Handstands Around the World
  2. Pingback: Colorado Day Hikes: Strawberry Lake – Handstands Around the World

      1. We had smoke streaming down into NM for months and so I kept a close eye on it. Not sure why except maybe population density (and the proximity of private property to the fires?), but CA, OR, and WA got so much of the National press and I kept thinking, “but, Colorado?!?” I hope this La Niña year isn’t too bad to us and we have some moist forest going into summer.

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  4. Gorgeous scenery! What a cracking birthday hike ☺️ Over here, it’s sheep and cows instead of moose and marmots (though I did see a few deer on the West Highland Way a couple of summers ago, and marmots for the first time on the Tour du Mont Blanc last summer). Love the colours in that shot of the sky at dusk, too!

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      1. Give it plenty of room, don’t get between a cow and its calf and hope for the best 😅 For the most part, they’re pretty laid back. I think the most scared/unsure I’ve been on a hike was when a trail took me and three friends through a farmyard and there were twenty odd turkeys strolling around making loads of noise. I laugh when I think of this memory, but at the time I was petrified!

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  5. You must be the moose whisperer because we’ve only seen 3 all this time and you saw 23 in one day. That is insane! I’ve been so bummed about the fires at RMNP. We still haven’t been, but it’s high on our list. Such an incredible landscape, it’s just heartbreaking to know how long it will take before it looks the way it did when you visited. This has just been a brutal year for fires. Anyway, your photos are fantastic and you definitely lucked out with your campsite! Thanks for all the great info.

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    1. I think I must be! Either that or we’re having some beginners luck. We’ve seen an unbelievable number of moose since moving here.

      The fires have been so heartbreaking. I’ve seen a little section of the burn scar from a distance but not up close. The good news for when you guys get to visit is that the main area of lakes did not burn and is still as amazing as ever!

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    1. It was very unexpected. Thousands of trails in this state, and there we both were! And actually just 3 weeks earlier we’d run into another couple we know on a trail closer to Denver. 2020 has been strange in many ways…

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  9. I loved this hike. We saw two moose coming over the ridge at what looked like a trail intersection. They were so high up, people didn’t believe us but I have photo evidence! They dropped down into the valley with a herd of elk! Great photos. Impressed with your handstand. Not much room at the summit!

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  13. Third time’s really the charm, that’s for sure! You were rewarded with some incredible views of the Rocky Mountain National Park’s diverse geography, all with a handstand in the end. The hike looks a bit tough for what I could ever do, but with all of that beauty at every turn, I’m sure it’s worth it! Thanks for sharing this part of RMNP, Diana. 🙂

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    1. I bet you could do it! We’ve progressively worked our way up to higher altitudes since moving here and I’m at the point now where I’m pretty comfortable up to about 12,500 feet. But even with a few days of acclimation, you could probably manage it.

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  14. Looks beautiful, all the way from sunset at the lake to the summit. That’s awful about the fire, but I guess they have to happen for the forest to stay healthy. We’ve had a few around us that are now filled with new growth.

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        1. I know. It’s so frustrating. Colorado actually completely shut down a bunch of national forest land for 3 weeks recently because fire danger was so high and people have proven that they can’t be responsible.

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    1. Definitely one worth adding to the list! I highly recommend buying a national parks pass when you get here (if you don’t already have one)… I’ve yet to find a trail in Rocky that I didn’t enjoy.

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  16. What better way to spend your birthday than by going on an awesome hike. The views from even your campsite alone look fabulous. I can’t believe how many moose you saw on the drive to and from the trailhead. I’ve only ever seen two moose in my life!

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  21. This is one of the best if not the best post since I’ve been following your blog. Great narrative and geology, pictures were plentiful and all were superb photos and you included your handstand.

    Several years ago, my wife and I went through Rocky Mountain National Park and got half way between Estes Park and Grand Lake on the Trail Ridge Road and had to turn around because it was the most dramatic pea soup fog I have ever seen – not a road you want to travel without good visibility not only for the scenery but one gets off the shoulder and ……!

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    1. Thank you!

      Definitely not a good trip in the fog… sounds scary! Hopefully you can drive the road again someday in better weather. Lots of breweries to sample out this way as well!

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