When autumn arrives in Colorado, we love to visit the high country to enjoy the vibrant colors that light up the mountain sides. One of the best places to enjoy the leaves of gold is Rocky Mountain National Park.
My 19-year-old, college student son Daniel and I spent the prior night in Estes Park, right outside Rocky Mountain. I had planned out the trip in advance and got Bear Lake Road reservations on August 1st, the moment the reservations become available for dates in September (they are gone within minutes for weekends in the summer and fall). We stopped briefly to get some gas and a quick bite of fast food breakfast, then entered the park at first morning’s light.
After passing the checkpoint to verify our access reservations we drove up to the parking area near the Glacier Gorge trailhead (which leads to Sky Pond), but unsurprisingly the small parking area was already full. We then continued onward to the much larger Bear Lake parking lot further up the road and found it was already completely full as well. We were far from the only early morning hikers ready to enjoy the fall colors.
On the drive up I saw a small parking area just below Glacier Gorge and told my son to drive back down to it, hoping that there would still be a place left there while cars passed us heading up to the full lots above. Sure enough, there was a spot left for us at this little parking area about 3/4 miles below the trailhead. A little extra hiking wouldn’t hurt us a bit.
We started down the trail and made fairly good time as we passed by Alberta Falls in the first mile, then The Loch at about 3 miles, the first of the lakes along the way to Sky Pond.
The trail passed alongside The Loch and after another mile we arrived at the point where the trail becomes a bit more challenging. You must climb a small cliff alongside Timberline Falls with cold water tumbling onto the rocks along the way. We made it fairly easily to the top of the cliff where we were rewarded with the sight of The Lake of Glass.
Many hikers mistake the smaller Lake of Glass for Sky Pond, but the trail continues onward past some boulders that obscure the path at the outset. Following alongside the Lake of Glass we ascended a bit further to arrive at Sky Pond.
With the jagged Shark’s Tooth piercing the sky above the lake, we knew we had arrived. Years before, when he was a seventh grader, we had tried the very same hike but had been turned back at deep snow at Timberline Falls. This time, at the right time of year, we had succeeded and could cross this bucket list Colorado hike off our list.
On the hike back we saw some pika hiding amid the rocks and some trout swimming casually in the Loch. The weather was pleasantly warm and and we would be well ahead of any afternoon rain that might move in.
It was a pretty easy-going hike for the both of us, and a good way to usher in the fall.
