Mills Lake — Local services in Estes Park

Went on a beautiful hike at the Nationa Park and decided to do the Mills Lake hike.. was about 5 miles moderate hike and it was soooo worth it. We started the hike around 3pm and that made it perfect to catch a little bit of the sun setting and hitting the mountains peak with its beautiful colors. The view was priceless, not sure if is just a little hard to breath for me cause I'm a Fl girl but just took my time and made sure to hydrate and stop when need it. There's a few little waterfalls on the way and beautiful trees changing colors this time of the year. Had a very nice hike , the trail on a Monday was a little busy to get in a d find parking took about 15 to 20min in line but at that time the line was moving quick. FYI the restrooms there weren't the greatest but they do have them in case you need it before or after the hike. Also you are allowed to have your dog around the entrance of the park but not on the hiking trails or you can get a fine. Again it was a beautiful hike and I will be coming back for aure to try some of the other trails. We saw some moose and lots of elks when we were leaving the park. Right after sunset there were a bunch of them just eating around and they definitely didn't mind having their pic taken....

Absolutely gorgeous hike. Midway, there's a large waterfall on the left, and an expansive valley view a little further up, on the right. Mills Lake itself is fairly large and beautiful, and located on the back side of Long's Peak, etc.

My only complaint was that I went in late July, and there were so many people on the trail.... The worst part was the begging chipmunks, which made it very difficult to sit down and actually enjoy the lake undisturbed, because they were running all around me and even under my legs as I sat on the rock by the lake. Please keep your granola crumbs away from the chipmunks and DO NOT FEED...

Went first of June 2022 and really enjoyed this hike. There was still a good amount of snow on the ground, so come prepared as I saw people with tennis shoes not made for hiking slippery and wet trails. After Alberta Falls, it starts to get a little more challenging and there were not as many people. I would have continued on, but it was getting later in the afternoon and looked like some storms coming in. Next time I'll continue to Black Lake, but this was a relaxing area to enjoy the mountains...