Emerald Lake

Having Rocky Mountain National Park as my backyard is amazing. I have easy access to one of the most beautiful places in our country and I try to always make the most of it. It’s pretty easy to do in the summer because there are hundreds of miles of trails to explore. Things kind of change in the winter though. It’s not always as easy to access some of the most majestic parts of the park in the winter. Trails get buried under feet of snow, rocks get icy, and it’s often insanely cold!

David and I have learned first hand how difficult things can get in the winter. Every year we go snowshoeing in RMNP and every single year we have gotten lost. What you think is a trail you’re on is really just a path some bunnies made. What you think is a trail is really a dead-end path a prior snowshoer took to admire the views of a valley below. While getting lost is a bummer because you never make it to your final destination, there is no one I would rather be with while aimlessly wandering around the woods than my husband.

I am happy to report that we finally made it to a destination this weekend. We headed out for Emerald Lake, which is one of the most popular summer hikes in the park, and for good reason. I have been on just about every trail on the east side of RMNP, but the trail to Emerald Lake was the one area I had not yet explored. In the summer, it’s always just too darn busy for me to want to deal with. While still busy in the winter, this place is an amazing place. Few other places are as beautiful as Emerald Lake in the winter.

For those interested in showshoeing to Emerald Lake, here’s some directions:
-Start at the Bear Lake Trailhead in RMNP

-Hike approximately .5 miles to Nymph Lake

-In the summer, hike around Nymph Lake and go another .6 miles to Dream Lake

-Continue around Dream Lake and follow the trail up to Emerald Lake

Roundtrip hike is about 3.6 miles with an elevation gain of about 600 feet.