The next day I hiked a version of the Four Lake Loop Trail on my own. Stephanie has a (legitimate) knee injury which is aggravated primarily by walking up and down stairs and hills. For the time being she is sticking to hiking trails with less elevation gain.
The standard Four Lake Trail is probably the most popular day hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, certainly in the Bear Lake Road corridor. Starting at the Bear Lake Trailhead, the hike first makes a loop around Bear Lake before an out and back hike to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake, all three of which are on the same trail.
I arrived at the Bear Lake parking lot, which was already about half full, at 6:30 AM and started hiking about fifteen minutes later. Since Stephanie and I hiked around Bear Lake yesterday, I skipped doing so again. Instead I started straight up the trail to Nymph Lake. Unlike yesterday, there were relatively few people on the trail at 7:00 AM.
The trail to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake is very wide and well-groomed. The trail is a bit rougher after Nymph Lake, but still easy to do in tennis shoes. Early in the morning there are people on the trail, but not too many. I was never more than five or ten minutes away from other hikers. Later in the day, however, this trail is a conveyor belt of folks.
I barely paused at Nymph Lake before continuing up to Dream Lake and then Emerald Lake. Just before reaching Emerald Lake the trail was blocked by a foraging elk. Reportedly it had charged a hiker, so everyone was fairly apprehensive getting past it.
By the time I arrived there were five hikers trying to figure out what to do, three returning from Emerald Lake and two trying to get there. After several minutes, the elk moved to a position about 10 yards off the trail on a small ridge about 10 feet higher. At this point the group of hikers, now numbering about a dozen, decided that we could safely pass the elk by going off trail about 10 yards farther away from it.
Luckily the elk completely ignored the hikers as traffic resumed, albeit slightly off trail.
On my return from Emerald Lake, the elk was laying down in roughly the same spot, partially behind both a tree and a boulder. Hikers in both directions veered slightly off the main trail to put extra distance between them and the elk. Later I read in the visitor’s guide that staying 75 feet (25 yards) away from elk should be sufficient. So we were close but probably okay.
Instead of returning on the main trail back to the parking lot, I turned onto the loop trail to head towards Lake Haiyaha. Hiking this as a loop trail, instead of an out and back, adds several miles to the journey, but also the opportunity to see additional lakes and waterfalls.
The trail to Lake Haiyaha is quite rocky and has much less traffic. I maybe saw other hikers every 20 minutes or so. By this time I was glad to be wearing hiking boots. They are definitely needed on this section of the trails. I also pulled out my trekking poles for the first time.
Lake Haiyaha was disappointing as the final approach to it is through a large boulder field. I didn’t feel like trying to boulder hop around a lake. More aggravating was the fact that the wind had picked up and it was now quite cold. Not cold enough to put gloves on, but cold enough to not want to hang around.
At this point the now very rocky trail turns downhill and leads to the junction with spur trails going to The Loch and Mills Lake. I skipped the trail to The Loch, instead taking a short out and back detour to Mills Lake. I figured I had come this far. Another 1.5 miles and 175 feet in elevation won’t hurt.
Admittedly after leaving Mills Lake I was starting to feel a bit worn out. Sore feet from all the rocks, sore legs from the elevation, and still slightly feeling the effects of the altitude. Thankfully Mills Lake was probably my favorite on the hike, making the detour well worthwhile.
This is also when I first started encountering the mid-morning hikers. It was about 10:30 AM and traffic was definitely picking up. I started passing a lot of hikers who were heading up the trail to either The Loch or Mills Lake from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead.
I followed the trail downhill to Alberta Falls, which was basically mobbed when I arrived. So much for a nice quiet hike.
Like Nymph Lake, the trail to Alberta Falls (from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead) is very wide, well-groomed, and suitable for walking in tennis shoes. It is very popular with families and other folks that want to see something, but not hike several miles. It is just as crowded as the trail to Nymph Lake the day before.
I barely paused at Alberta Falls before hustling downhill. I was now hiking noticeably more slowly than earlier in the day. My goal of completing the hike in under five hours was definitely unreachable.
At the bottom of the hill, near the Glacier Gorge parking lot, I turned left to follow the trail heading over to Bear Lake to complete the loop. Much to my dismay that final 0.4 miles is basically straight uphill, probably the steepest trail I had been on all day. In hindsight I should have parked at the Glacier Gorge parking lot and done this short section of trail first. That would have guaranteed ending the hike on a downhill.
I officially finished the hike at 12:15 PM, after 5.5 hours. The actual hike that I did, according to All Trails, was about 8 miles, with 1,475 feet in elevation gain, and almost entirely above 10,000 feet in altitude. I really enjoyed it.
From there it was off to Safeway to pick up beer, where a 30 pack of Natural Light only cost $22.99 plus tax.
Miles Hiked:
Four Lake Loop: 8.0 miles (as modified)
Garrett and Stephanie
If you have not already done so, read our other posts about Rocky Mountain National Park:
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (June, 2026, Part I). Figuring out the timed entry system; Bear Lake Corridor; our first elk sighting.
To read other posts about our adventures in the National Parks and National Monuments, or elsewhere in the world, check out our Travel Blog. It contains collected links to all of our travel posts.
Want to subscribe (or unsubscribe) for email notification of new blog posts? It is only two to three emails a month. Send your name and email address to slowtravelchronicles@gmail.com, and note subscribe (or unsubscribe) in the subject line. All email addresses will be kept confidential and not sold to any third-party. You won’t get any marketing junk or sales pitches from us.