Emerald Lake Trail

I'd been saving these for a longer post on Rocky Mountain National Park that I've been meaning to write but it hasn't written itself yet and I've ran out of patience. All of these were taken on the hike up to Emerald Lake from Bear Lake. It's a great little hike (less than two miles one way) with some amazing views and lots of lakes. These first couple shots are new ones, the last few I've posted before but I'm including to give you a better idea of the scenery along the trail.

Bear Lake, where the trail starts

My favorite view from the entire hike

Emerald Lake, where the trail ends

If you're even in Colorado and make it up to Rocky Mountain National Park you might want to consider adding this trail to your itinerary, it's definitely worth it. I'd advise getting there early though, the parking lot fills up early (you can always take the shuttle there if all else fails) and you have a better chance of catching the reflections of the mountains on the water. Also, bring a rain jacket because it rarely fails to rain in the early afternoon (during the summer at least), I encountered three different rain storms on my way up the trail although it calmed down by the time I headed back down.