flattop mtn - hallett peak hike

This is the second time I’ve done this hike and I think I can now say that it’s one of my favorites in Rocky Mountain National Park. Not only are there some great views of my favorite mountain, Longs Peak, at different points along the trail, but from Hallett’s rocky summit on the Continental Divide, you’re treated to one of the best 360-degree panoramic views in the park.

This popular hike starts off from Bear Lake (9,450 ft). It’s a 4.4 mile hike to Flattop Mountain’s expansive summit (12,324 ft), and then another ½ mile or so over to Hallett Peak (12,713 ft). The trail all the way up to Flattop is well-maintained and, especially in summer, heavily travelled. Expect a lot of company if you do this hike during June-July-August. There isn’t an ‘official’ trail from Flattop over to Hallett, but there is a much-used path that’s easy to follow if you’re patient and look for the cairns that mark the way.

The first part of this hike won’t hold any surprises for anyone who has started off from Bear Lake before. You make your way up through the spruce-fir forest, passing through some stands of aspens on your way up to the junction with the trail to Bierstadt Lake (¼ mile). Hang a left here and the trail becomes quite a bit rockier. You’ll continue on up through the forest and then come to another trail junction (1 mile). The Fern-Odessa Trail goes off to the right, but you’ll continue to follow the Flattop Mountain Trail to the left. From this point on, it’s a steady climb, so you might want to stop up the trail at the Dream Lake Overlook (1.65 miles—10,485 ft) to catch your breath and take a few pictures. The view to the south up Glacier Gorge and to Longs Peak is outstanding.

Between the Dream Lake & Emerald Lake Overlooks, you’ll begin to pass through treeline. The Emerald Lake Overlook (2.9 miles—11,357 ft) offers a vertigo-inducing view down into Tyndall Gorge and is another good spot to stop for a breather and enjoy the scenery. There’s a sign here that cautions you not to descend to Emerald Lake from this spot, although one wonders who would need such a warning since it’s a sheer 1,250-foot vertical drop from where you’re standing to the lakeshore far below.

In the area of the overlook, you’ll quickly pass through the last of the stunted trees & krummholz that mark the boundary between treeline & the spectacular alpine tundra that, for me, is one of the highlights of this hike. Passing through treeline up onto the tundra is an amazing experience— as if the roof of the world has suddenly been removed and there’s nothing around you now except mountaintops and sky.

Once above treeline, and once the trail makes a definite turn to the west, be sure to look around and enjoy the expansive views to the north & east. As you look back east, the layered ridgelines are especially photogenic— if the light is right. You’ll also find the wildflowers that bloom in the harsh environment above treeline to be worthy of a photo stop or two (or three or four) as you continue to make your way upward. There were some lovely pockets of columbine (the Colorado state flower) right alongside the trail when I did this hike last weekend. A bit farther up, there were some pretty yellow arnica (a member of the sunflower family) just off-trail that inspired me to get right down on my belly to shoot them close-up.

So you’re enjoying the view, appreciating the beauty of the wildflowers, and before you know it, you’ll come to a familiar landmark on the way up— the horse hitch rack (3.9 miles—12,115 ft). At this point, if you make your way a stone’s throw to your left over the tundra, you’ll get some excellent views of the headwall of Tyndall Gorge, the top of Tyndall Glacier, & of Hallett Peak’s rounded summit across the way.

Just above the hitch rack, you’ll need to make your way up across a small snowfield (at least it was there when I did both my hikes in early July) to catch the trail again as it climbs toward Flattop’s summit area. Once you top out on Flattop (4.4 miles-12,324 ft), you’ll see why it’s so aptly named. As the view to the west opens up before you and you start wondering just where the true summit is on this wide-open expanse of rocky tundra, just know that if you make it to the sign that marks the major trail junction up here (Flattop, North Inlet, & Tonahutu Creek Trails), it’s generally accepted that you’ve legitimately bagged Flattop.

So once you’re at that trail junction, you’re starting to eyeball the distance over to Hallett Peak (12,713 ft), aren’t you? Well, it’s a shame not to snag Hallett once you’re up on Flattop, so you might as well go for it. It’s a short half-mile (maybe a bit more) jaunt over the rocky tundra and then a moderately steep climb up some granite boulders, and you can bag two summits in one day. There’s not an “official” trail over to Hallett, but as you can see below, there’s a well-used route that is marked by cairns. Once you start the climb up Hallett’s northwest flank, there are also some harder-to-find cairns (just take your time and look for them) that show you the path of least resistance up to the summit. As you stand atop Hallett, I guarantee the jaw-dropping views in every direction will make you glad you climbed up there.

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Many people also include Otis Peak (12,486 ft) on this hike, and that’s what I planned to do, but I had a major camera mishap on top of Hallett that discouraged me so much I decided to skip Otis and just head back down to Bear Lake. (While taking a couple of self-portraits up on the summit, I had hung my pack from the tripod’s center column to stabilize it in the very high winds, but after that as I was moving around shooting a few pics, in just a split-second that I let go of the tripod while setting up a shot, the wind blew it over and smashed camera & lens on a rock. Thankfully, my trusty Canon 40D seems to be okay, but the 28-125mm lens is a loss.)

Despite the loss of a lens this last time out, the Flattop-Hallett combo is still one of my favorite hikes in RMNP and one I hope you’ll get to do sometime. You’ll spend quite a bit of time above treeline, though, so all the standard precautions apply when you do such a hike: start early so you can be back down before any possible afternoon storms; take plenty of water; remember the sunscreen; pack a jacket as it might be quite a bit windier & chillier up top; etc.

I took the photo below as I passed by Bear Lake on the way back to the Mini. You can see clouds had started to roll in over the Divide and I felt a few raindrops as I was changing out of my boots at the car. I even drove through a few rain showers on the way home. Yet another example of why it’s good to get an early start.

Thanks for reading about stuff I’ve photographed. ~ Rich