Emerald Lake — Attraction in Estes Park

This was a cool hike, went alone in Jean's and a sweater. On my way to the airport thought I'd stop and check it out.. easy hike.. even to emerald is not at all difficult. Great scenery.. Except for some 50 something douche on the trail with his family, I was headed down and they up...Accused me of "looking around" and littering.. seriously.. out of nowhere, just enjoying nature and all the beauty of the place.. and this a-hole jumps on me and I had never seen him before nor had i left any litter.. just wanted in case he reads this to say you're lucky your family was there and I thought better of my first impulse. Everyone else on the trail was pretty cool tho. And I always try to have good trail etiquette. .. it's also kinda weird up in there.. it's a federal park. But there are private ranches all over forbidding people from entering. Which to my limited knowledge is not legal. But whatever I just wanted to enjoy the hike. Probably won't be back tho. Glacier NP is much prettier and I really didn't feel welcome in Rocky Mtn natl park despite my tax dollars paying for it. I had a feeling that everyone around there didn't want me there. Not a very welcoming place, no visitors center, nowhere to stop and get a bite, meh.. save the effort and go someplace cool like...

Emerald Lake is stunning. My favorite on this trail. Easy to follow to get here and you pass Nymph Lake and Dream Lake on the way. All are beautiful.

I wore my Asics runners because they are most comfortable for me while hiking. They were perfect for this trail! But you should have shoes with some traction to help over the uneven terrain and rocks!

The trail is relatively easy/moderate with incline and steps. Not as difficult as the trail to Haiyaha but if you aren’t used to the altitude, can still take your breath. Take your time and enjoy! Lots of places to stop and rest.

As for parking - we arrived around noon on a friday (8/30/24). The signs at the NP entrance said trailhead parking lot was full. We decided to still drive all the way to check it out. Highlyyyy recommend that before going straight to the park and ride lot where you take the bus to and from the trailhead. There were at least 5 parking spots open when we got there. Glad we didn’t waste the time with the bus but glad that’s an option for some.

People of all ages were doing this hike! A...

Our favorite hiking trail in RMNP. We tried to hiking this trail in July with friends out of town, but it was so busy, long wait for bus shuttles, so we gave up.

Last Sunday 10/29/2017, we made it to the bear lake parking lot at 10:30am, parking lot was 1/2 full. We visited bear lake then hiked Emerald Lake Trail. Some incline in 1st 0.5 mile to Nymph Lake. Had a thin layer of ice on the surface already.

Another 0.6 miles up, it’s our favorite spot-Dream Lake! Also turned into ice lake! So different then summer views, so beautiful! The ice still not thick enough for people to walk on it yet, be careful!

Continue 0.7 mile up, reached Emerald Lake, surprised the lake still not iced yet, but windy and cold. It’s above 10k ft elevations, gorgeous views!

We left by 1:30pm, there was a line of 10+ car waiting to get in the parking lot, and there were parking spots available.

We enjoyed it very much! No wonder it’s the no.1 hiking...