Here’s a couple of really cool winter day hikes to do in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). If you want to go straight to maps and stats scroll down the post, otherwise keep reading.
Winter landscapes are amazing: The cold, the snow, the ice, the beauty, the challenges, everything. Besides, I love that there is no crowds especially during the weekdays (sometimes the weekends can still be busy on the popular trails, especially in sunny weather). The weather and temperature in RMNP varies a lot so check before going and prepare accordingly.
Glacier Gorge Trailhead – The Loch – Sky Pond (almost)
It was pretty cold and snowed a lot when I did this hike (in snowshoes all the way). My camera died because of the cold when I got up there in the wind, it was probably -15 to -20 degree celsius. It is approved to -10 so totally fair but I was still hopeful though. I had it on my chest the whole time so it was constantly exposed to the cold, if I had kept it covered or in a pocket I think it would have been fine. Anyway, the idea was to go to Sky Pond or as long as I could. Turned out that I had to turn around just below since I wasn’t too sure about the last part. I knew there was a river and a waterfall somewhere, but I couldn’t see it because of all the snow. I didn’t want to take the risk of something bad happen so I turned around and have to return to Sky Pond some other day. I got just above the tree line, so still really nice views, and it’s also really nice at The Loch. There’s a winter trail (it appears on maps.me and most other hiking apps) that shortcuts some of the way to The Loch that’s faster than the usual one. It’s a pretty easy and rewarding hike. Here is some pictures, map and altitude profile. For more details on the route see my strava here.
If you wonder about the mystical creature in the pictures it’s Dave-The-Rave…as far as I know nobody has ever seen his face!
And the stats…
Longs Peak Trailhead – Chasm Lake
Really loved this one!! Also not too hard, of course with respect to the altitude. Once again, Dave-The-Rave showed up and again I didn’t see his face!
The Longs Peak Trail begins from the parking lot and is very easy to find. The trail goes through the forest and once you get above the tree line the views start to open up, and what amazing views! Theres a plateau above the tree line that would be great for pitching a tent, I imagine people do it sometimes when they go to the top of Longs Peak if they want to break it into two days or more. In high season you have to have a permit in advance though. Thats part of why I love going to RMNP in winter, you can just go to Beaver Meadows Visitors Center and get a permit if you want to stay overnight. Anyway, once you get up to the ridge that runs south of the plateau you can either hike up to Longs Peak or go to Chasm Lake. In this junction there are great views also but I went along towards Chasm. There’s a part thats a bit sketchy in winter since it’s very steep and I had to walk on snow. Luckily it was overcast and pretty cold so the snow seemed firm. There was another guy, Sean, up there who wasn’t sure to cross either, so we talked a little bit. I actually decided it wasn’t safe and was about to turn around but then 55 year old climber, Dan, came along geared up and everything since he was gonna climb The Diamond the following day. He said it was safe to cross as long as the snow was still hard and we could just follow his footsteps. He looked like he knew what he was doing (in his own words: “FUCK YES I know what I’m doing!”) So we followed along…
We got up to Chasm Lake and it was absolutely stunning…
Stats for the nerds…(go to my Strava for more details)
Please leave a comment if you’d like – I’d love to interact with whoever is reading this stuff.
All the best,
David
Through Mountains 