Sky Pond The Loch, and Timberline Falls via Glacier Gorge Loop @ RMNP

DISTANCE FROM DENVER: ABOUT 1.5 HOURS

SAT, August 4, 2024

I’ve been living in Denver for a little over 3 years, and this was only my second time hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park for some reason. Part of this could be because it’s a whole process to go there and reserve parking and everything. It could also be that when thinking about our weekend plans, we’re often going camping somewhere. But we made it a point to plan an RMNP day this summer and it was so worth it. 

One thing that will probably only get worse at Rocky Mountain is the crowds (yet another deterrent from visiting). It’s a super popular national park, so it makes sense that it gets crazy crowded with tourists, especially at the Bear Lake lot. These huge clusters of people can take you out of the experience and make it hard to take it all in, but these are the things we have to accept. It’s annoying, but DUH, it’s a tourist attraction! And we all deserve to enjoy a place like this.

To be fair, we didn’t go as early as we could have. We usually try to start things early to beat crowds and traffic. For example, we leave for ski resorts at 5 am. And if you’ve read our previous posts, you know we start 14ers around 4 am. But sometimes we want to sleep in a little! This was one of those times. Aiming for earlier time slots or weekdays at RMNP may help you avoid crowds, but I did also see reviews on AllTrails mentioning going early didn’t help them, so who’s to say?

The route we decided on was Sky Pond The Loch, and Timberline Falls via Glacier Gorge Loop. AllTrails lists it as a 9.9-mile loop with an elevation gain of 2,168. (Keep in mind, the AllTrails stats aren’t always 100% correct). Jon had previously hiked to Lake Haiyaha and told me how beautiful it was and that he had to take me. We found a hike that included this viewpoint plus a lot more, that way it was something new for both of us. 

I loved this loop so much. It hit tons of amazing sites! It was pretty lake-heavy, hitting Lake Haiyaha, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Lake of Glass. It also covered Timberline Falls, Sky Pond, Glacier Knobs, and Alberta Falls. This is the perfect hike to see various highlights at the park, especially if you’re looking for a longer hike. (It took us around 6 hours). Of course, RMNP is a huge national park, so it’s barely even a dent! But how cool is that? It’s close to home and offers so much to explore. 

Lake Haiyaha was one of the first main stops on the hike and was a particularly crowded spot. The water is a beautiful crystal blue color. We hung out for a little and snapped some pics, but it was hectic and we had quite the hike ahead, so we didn’t stay for too long.

After departing from Haiyaha, the crowds thinned out significantly. We hiked a while longer in peace. We stopped at a lovely view when it was time to relax again. We sat on some rocks, took in the view, and bit into delicious juicy peaches.

We started moving again and eventually reached Timberline Falls. There was some climbing we had to do here. There were also a bit more crowds in this spot, but it didn’t feel as bad as earlier. Timberline Falls was beautiful, and to get to the final sights, we had to climb up the rocks. This was fun! The rocks were a little wet (obviously, it’s a waterfall), but I really didn’t feel that scared and confidently made my way up. There were lots of people climbing, some who probably rarely hike at all. It involved some fun challenges, but it wasn’t super crazy. I thought it would be a good prep for our next 14er on the list, Mount Sneffels, although that would be a different beast. It felt like a good way to at least get those wheels turning and my confidence up. 

After looping back, the crowds started to pick up again. Once we made it back to the start, we got on the shuttle to get back to our parking. Oh yeah,  I forgot to mention that because the Bear Lake lot had filled up, we unfortunately had to take a shuttle from where we parked to the trailhead. Ugh, shuttles are so annoying. On the shuttle, I saw the calorie count on my watch was 1,111, which is the opposite of annoying. What a satisfying number! 

After arriving back at our car and deboarding the crowded shuttle, it was time to figure out where we were eating and having some beers. We had trouble finding a brewery in Estes Park with the right vibe and food, but we landed on Avant Garde Aleworks, which had a food truck called WesTex BBQ. We had investigated one of the other spots initially, but it simply wasn’t the vibe. But Avant Garde was the place for us! We had ordered beers and then split a frosé. The drinks were great, the food was great, and our time was great.

This was a perfect Sunday. I loved the hike. We saw so many beautiful sites and got a good long workout in. The day was made even better with some beers, frosé, and BBQ before making our way back home. 

I would highly recommend this RMNP loop to anyone looking to see some highlights of the national park and get some great exercise! Keep in mind it’s a fairly long hike and there is some climbing involved, but you can always skip that part!