St Mary's Glacier Trailhead — Attraction in Four Corners States

Hiked up St. Mary's Glacier on 11/21, and saw some incredibly beautiful views up the glacier. I highly recommend you make the white hike up the large hill as you will also be able to see the mountains in the back. After the hill, the land is relatively flat so it's easy to walk. But with all the snow around, it is kind of difficult to stay on trail as there are very little stone piles to guide you. I hiked in about 2 miles from the trailhead to see some incredible views not only from the hill, but also behind the hill where heavy snow clouds were about to come in. There are also many fisherman on the lake. (If any of you sell your fresh catches, please let me know)

My hiking stats: Total ascent: 1,378 ft Min elevation: 10,281 ft Max elevation: 11,552 ft Hike time: ~3hrs (I'm slow and stopped many times for pictures so if you're planning to power hike this route maybe a little over 2hrs for fast hikers)

At this time, I would heavily recommend wearing crampons if you plan to hike up the hill for your safety. Hiking down the glacier is definitely more slippery and dangerous without any crampons.

Plan to hike out earlier in the day as well. At this time of the year it's snowing pretty frequently and light snow starts around noon. It gets heavier by the hour and you do not want to be stuck very far in the trail when the snow gets heavy. Make sure to check the radar too to make sure no blizzards are coming in. And finally, stay on trail to reduce your risk of being in the way of an avalanche.

Finally, bring $5 cash for parking. There's a post with a permit box next to the porta-pottys in the parking lot. You have to fill it out manually with a pen too. I believe there are a total of 3 parking lots, but...

Arrived before 9 am on a Sunday and had no problems finding a parking spot. Paid $20 for parking at a machine that accepted cash or credit card. Both parking lots are very close to the trailhead. I hike regularly, and I live in Colorado, so the hike up was pretty easy. It is steep and rocky, so if you're not used to the elevation and/or not in shape, it might not be easy. We were in sight of other hikers most of the way up and down, but did not feel crowded. Many people had dogs, some on leash, some off leash. Not everyone is steady on steep rocky terrain, so I wouldn't recommend letting a dog off leash if there is any chance they might approach other dogs or hikers. Views at the lake and looking down from the top of the glacier are beautiful. Plenty of things to explore, the beach area, the glacier / snowfield, wildflowers, rocks, etc. We saw a chipmunk, but no other wildlife made an appearance. Spikes would be necessary to walk across the glacier. There would be high risk of a long slide down and a painful dismount if attempted without spikes. The lake is cold (very cold). A person did jump in while we were there and came up screaming. He got out quickly and didn't go back in. I wouldn't plan on swimming, and wouldn't let my kids swim in water this cold. A stop in Idaho Springs for a bite to eat on the way out is a good idea. Overall, a fun day that we will...

We came upon this place kind of by accident just browsing around Google Maps. It's a hike up rock strewn path for about one mile to a lake at the base of the glacier and another half mile to get to the actual glacier. The lake is beautiful. The glacier is small but it's there. The hike is through lots of rocks that looks like a dried stream bed. Hiking shoes/boots would come in very handy on this trail. It can feel strenuous because of the altitude (somewhere around 10000 feet). To us, it's worth the 2 hours or so we invested in the hike. It's a nice stopping point for us as we drove from Estes Park to Grand Lake in the "southern loop". There are no "trail markers" along the way, only some warning signs as you get up to the lake. Follow "up hill" and stay on the main stream path on the way to the lake, and "down hill" on your way back and you won't get lost, but you can get nervous and doubt if you are going the right way if there are no one else around. This is not a park so it seems to be private. It could certainly use a few direction signs. It's is cool to see and "touch" the glacier. We visited in late October and the glacier is small and seems to be melting. I'd imagine it will "grow" through the winter but I wonder how many years it will be before the glacier is gone in the summer...