Bear Lake Trailhead - Rocky Mountain National Park, CO - A trail leading to the Bear Lake

Bear Lake Trailhead is about twenty minutes outside of Estes Park, Colorado in the Rocky Mountain National Park. There are no dogs permitted in the park but visitors may enjoy backpacking and hiking. The elevation of the Bear Lake Trailhead is 9,475 feet and the trails are easy to manage and wide where they leave off from the trailhead.

There are three lakes within a short distance from the start of the Bear Lake Trailhead. These are the Bear, Dream and Nymph lakes. The Bear Lake Nature Trail is a loop of approximately half a mile. The Bear Lake Road is open all year long but may occasionally close due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The Bear Lake is considered to be at the heart of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and is only half a mile from the start of the trail. It can be found below the Continental Divide and Hallett's Peak with a number of trails starting at it that give visitors the choice of a leisurely stroll or more intense hiking experience. There is a large parking lot at the head of the Bear Lake Trail.

The Bear Lake Trailhead has a shuttle bus to get to the start of the trail to the parking lot. The shuttle begins running at eight in the morning and stops running at 7:30 at night in intervals that are fifteen minutes apart. While cell phone service is not reliable at the Bear Lake Trailhead there are other services available to make visitors to the area comfortable. Park rangers are available to help visitors of the Rocky Mountain National Park that would like to go hiking. There is also water and restrooms available at the head of the trail. The trail is handicapped accessible and has garbage cans to ensure that visitors don't litter while on the premises.

The Nymph Lake is approximately half a mile from the Bear Lake Trailhead at an additional elevation of two-hundred-and-twenty-five feet. The start of the trail is dense forest that slowly becomes an open area with an incredible view and sunshine. Just over a mile down the Bear Lake Trail is the Dream Lake. There is another increase in elevation of four-hundred-and-twenty-five feet.

At nearly two miles from the Bear Lake Trailhead you will have increased your elevation by a total of 605 feet and found the Emerald Lake. This is where the Bear Lake Trail dead end's giving hikers a view of dense forest and mountains. Only the eastern portion of the Emerald Lake is accessible which means that other hikers will only be a short distance from you if you decide to have a picnic at the site.

The Bear Lake Trailhead can also be used to reach the Bierstadt Lake during a two mile hike. The view hiking this way is gotten by leaving the trail. There is a narrow foot path on the lake's southern edge when you leave the main portion of the Bear Lake Trail.