bear lake

Bear Lake (9,475 ft) is one of the most popular spots in Rocky Mountain National Park. It lies, not unexpectedly, out at the end of Bear Lake Road. (Earlier this summer, while driving down Bear Lake Road, I actually saw a black bear ambling along beside the road! Of course, both cameras were in my pack in the boot of the Mini at the time.) There is a very large parking lot at the Bear Lake Trailhead, but it fills up quickly on summer weekends, so don’t be surprised if you have to backtrack and take the shuttle bus.

From the parking lot, it’s a short stroll to the shoreline of the lake. The Bear Lake Nature Trail makes a 0.65 mile loop around the lake and is wheelchair accessible for part of the way.

For photography purposes, the eastern & northern shores of the lake will be of most interest. From the eastern shore, there are a number of spots where compositions featuring Hallett Peak (12,713 ft) may be arranged. From the north shore, there is a great view up Glacier Gorge to my favorite mountain, Longs Peak (14,259 ft). By a quirk of perspective, Half Mountain (11,482 ft) will look just as tall as Longs Peak when you shoot from this side of Bear Lake.

If you’re willing to scramble up a few boulders above the north shore of the lake, you can do a bit of tame off-trail exploring and find a unique vantage point or two up among the aspens. This extra effort will yield a classic shot in the fall, with the yellow-leaved aspens in the immediate foreground, Bear Lake in the middle distance, and Longs Peak looming up across the way in the background.

Bear Lake is also the jumping-off point for hikes up to Nymph, Dream, & Emerald Lakes, as well as Lake Haiyaha. From the trailhead, you access the Flattop Mountain Trail & the trail to Bierstadt Lake. A short hike will even take you down to Glacier Gorge Junction where you can hook up with the Loch Vale Trail. No wonder the Bear Lake Trailhead is such a popular spot in RMNP!

Bear Lake is a great place to take visitors from out-of-town who may not be up to a more strenuous hike at this altitude. The easy hike around the lake and the stunning views west & south will give them a good taste of what makes Rocky Mountain National Park such a special place.

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

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

cub lake hike

Cub Lake is located at an elevation of 8,620 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. From the Cub Lake Trailhead (8,080 feet) on the western edge of Moraine Park, it’s a pleasant 4.8 mile (round-trip) hike. Parking at the trailhead is limited, but there’s additional parking available farther up the road at the Fern Lake Trailhead.

Just after you start out on this hike, the trail crosses a sizable log footbridge that carries you across the Big Thompson River. From the bridge, you can look upstream to the Continental Divide and see Stones Peak (12,922 ft), Sprague Mountain (12,713 ft), and Gabletop Mountain (11,939 ft).

The trail, with some minor ups & downs, skirts the western edge of the vast meadow known as Moraine Park. Quite a few wildflowers bloom along this section of trail during summer. Before reaching the heavily wooded ridgeline shown in the picture below, the trail turns to the west and follows Cub Creek.

The trail now begins to wind through rocky forest, with small ponds found in a few of the marshy areas alongside the trail. Wildflowers also abound along this part of the trail. We even saw a few examples of the beautiful wood lily. Scattered up the hillside to your right, you’ll notice large boulders bordering the trail here. They’re called glacial erratics (rocks deposited on the glacially scoured bedrock as the wall of ice melted thousands of years ago).

The trail steepens a bit as it winds its way through the pine forest and up into groves of aspen. I’m sure the aspen trees make this part of the trail very pretty in the fall. Even while ascending through the forest to Cub Lake, the trail never becomes too difficult.

Cub isn’t actually one of the more scenic lakes in RMNP, but its main claim to fame probably isn’t the scenery around the lake, but rather what you’ll find on the lake in July & August… yellow pond lilies. Be careful you don’t fall in the water while trying to get close-up shots of lily pads & lovely yellow blossoms! As far as a landscape shot of the lake & mountains, your best bet will be to cross over the marshy eastern end of the lake on the path that leads back to the Cub Creek Backcountry Campsite. There’s a social trail that makes its way through the trees which closely border the southern shoreline, and you’ll find several good spots along there to photograph the lake with Stones Peak and Sprague Mountain offering a suitably alpine backdrop.

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

long lake & lake isabelle hike

Long Lake and Lake Isabelle are located within the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. To reach the IPWA, you actually have to go through the Brainard Lake Recreation Area and (at the time of this writing) an entrance fee of $9 was being charged. If you arrive before the booth is manned, there is a self-pay station. To get to the entrance road near the small mountain town of Ward, I start off following Canyon Blvd west out of Boulder. Canyon Blvd turns into twisty, curvy CO 119 and takes you up to Nederland. At the traffic circle in Nederland, take the Peak to Peak Highway (CO 72) north. Once you reach Ward, watch for a sign on the right for the Brainard Lake Recreation Area (the entrance road is actually to your left, though).

Note: The “winter gate” at the entrance station is closed from around about late October through late June or even early July. There are no set dates for the closing/opening of the winter gate, which is more than a bit frustrating, so just be aware that if you arrive and the gate is closed, you will have to park there & hike back the road into the area (FYI: It’s a bit over 1 ½ miles from the winter gate to Brainard Lake).

The parking area at the Long Lake Trailhead fills up fast, so get there early or be prepared to park down the road and hoof it back up to the trailhead. Even this may not work later in the day when there is literally no place left to park in the entire area. So get there early.

Okay, so once you actually start off on your hike, you’ll come pretty quickly to Long Lake (10,524 ft). It’s less than a quarter of a mile from parking lot to a trail junction at the eastern end of the lake. To get to my favorite spot to photograph Long Lake, take a left at this junction. You’ll cross a footbridge that will take you over Long’s outlet stream, to the southern shore of the lake. (The photo below was taken from the bridge, looking toward the lake.)

Follow the trail up around to the right, through a large meadow that is full of wildflowers (in season, of course), and head into the trees.

Shortly after you enter the forest, watch for a faint side trail off to the right, going down through the trees toward the lake. If you follow this trail, it’ll deposit you on some boggy ground right on the lakeshore. If you don’t mind getting your boots a bit muddy you can look around there for some interesting foreground and shoot westward down the lake, with the Indian Peaks in the background.

To get back on the Pawnee Pass Trail and headed up to Lake Isabelle, you can either continue on around the Jean Lunning Trail or backtrack to that trail junction near the footbridge.

The Pawnee Pass Trail climbs steadily through the forest before a final, open stretch that rises quickly and brings you to Lake Isabelle (10,892 ft). Not counting any detour you take to photograph at Long Lake, the hike to Isabelle is 2.1 miles. Once I arrive at Isabelle, I like to head over to the left to the lake’s outlet area where two small waterfalls are formed by Isabelle’s runoff. You can get some nice compositions in this area, with Navajo (13,409 ft), Apache (13,441 ft), and Shoshoni (12,967 ft) Peaks serving as a stunning backdrop.

After photographing at Isabelle a bit, I decided to take an unplanned excursion farther up the Pawnee Pass Trail. I found that the trail climbs steeply above Isabelle, crossing a couple of footbridges, to a point where you will come to a great view back down to Isabelle. When I reached this spot, I was shooting into the sun, so unfortunately I didn’t bring back a good picture from this overlook. Between Isabelle and the overlook, there were a couple of sections of trail still covered by snow (below). But there were also quite a few wildflowers all along the trail and I can see how just a bit later in the summer, they would be really beautiful through here. Anyway, after the overlook above Isabelle, I continued on until I came to a series of large switchbacks that climbed steeply through the snow (the slope here was still a completely snow-covered expanse) to a rocky ridge quite a ways above me. Not knowing what all was above that point or how much farther the pass itself might be, I decided to turn back there.

I’d like to try for Pawnee Pass again after the snow melts a bit more, but I was very happy with the shots I got at Isabelle on this outing. Without a doubt, I consider Lake Isabelle to be one of the most beautiful spots I’ve come across in my hiking around Colorado, and the shot at the top of this post is one of my favorites from the past three years of photography. I hope you enjoy your visit to the Indian Peaks and I’m sure that you’ll also bring back some great shots that you’ll treasure.

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

roxborough state park

I visited Roxborough State Park this past Saturday (June 19th). This was my third visit to this scenic park. Roxborough is well worth visiting multiple times, especially for photographers. Local landscape photographer John Fielder (recipient of the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams award) considers Roxborough “the most beautiful park in the Colorado State Parks system.” Besides being one of our most beautiful & most accessible state parks (it is only about fifteen miles southwest of Denver), Roxborough is also a Colorado Natural Area and a National Natural Landmark. All of this should tell you that Roxborough is a special place.

The main attraction at Roxborough is the park’s spectacular geologic setting. The tilted sandstone rocks are part of the Lyons and Fountain geologic formations & are similar to what you will find at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Garden of the Gods. Wildlife watching is also a popular pasttime at Roxborough. You’re almost guaranteed to see mule deer during your visit. This past Saturday morning, as I passed by the visitor center, a ranger told me I might want to make noise as I walked the trails because there’d been a couple of recent mountain lion sightings in the park, as well as sightings of a mother black bear and her two cubs. Wouldn’t you know it, but my bear bell was on my other pack, so I whistled while I walked around on the lovely, tree-lined dirt trails.

For photographing the colorful sandstone formations, you’ll want to be at Roxborough as early as possible in the morning, but since the gate doesn’t open until 7 am, you won’t be able to shoot at sunrise in the summer… unless you check the www.parks.state.co.us website for one of the park’s periodic 5 am openings.

If you head north from the parking lots & visitor center on the Fountain Valley Trail, you’ll come upon two must-stop spots for photography. The first is the Fountain Valley Overlook (below)…

The second spot, the Lyons Overlook (below), will be a bit farther up the trail…

At the Lyons Overlook, I made my way over to a rocky outcrop that is just a stone’s throw south of the “official” viewing platform. There’s a great view from up there, but I don’t know how smart it was to plow my way through the prickly shrubs & scrub oak since a) I scratched my legs all to heck and b) Roxborough is apparently known for its healthy population of rattlesnakes. Yikes.

May and June is a wonderful time to visit Roxborough. The vibrant green landscape matched up with the red rocks is a winning combination. There were some great wildflowers blooming when I was at the park last weekend (below). But Roxborough is open all year round, and I’ve always wanted to head down there in winter, after a heavy, wet snow, to photograph the fresh snow covering the red rocks… I haven’t made that trip yet. Maybe this winter.

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

mills lake hike

On Wednesday, June 16th, I took the opportunity to head up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a mid-week hike. Before hiking the 2.7 miles up to Mills Lake, I decided to stop off at Sprague Lake for sunrise. Stopping at Sprague was part of my continuing quest to get a reflection shot there. But it turns out I was destined to be disappointed yet again. I got some nice alpenglow on the peaks of the Continental Divide, but the wind was up quite a bit and so the water was very choppy, rather than being the smooth canvas you need to get a reflection. Bummer.

Anyway, someone told me I need to watch the weather map and hit Sprague when there’s a high pressure system parked right over area, so I guess I’ll be glued to the Weather Channel the rest of the summer.

From Sprague, I went farther up Bear Lake Road to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead (9,180 ft). Without question, this trailhead is one of the most popular spots in RMNP to begin a hike— and, as I think about it, this must be the eighth or ninth hike I’ve started from this spot. Since it’s such a popular spot, the parking lot is sure to be full by midmorning or even sooner, especially on weekends. I love getting back to the parking lot after a six hour hike and, the second I step up to the Mini, someone pulls over and asks if I’m leaving. Geez, buddy, just give me a minute, okay? Maybe if you’d have got here at 5am, like me, you’d have got a parking space. Grrr...

Deep breath, Rich. Deep breath.

A bit of actual advice: If the Glacier Gorge lot is full, you can keep going farther up the road and try the Bear Lake lot. From the Bear Lake Trailhead (9,450 ft), you can take a short spur trail (½ mile) & hike back down to pick up the main Loch Vale Trail.

As you make your way up the Loch Vale Trail to Alberta Falls, you’ll pass through a wee aspen grove & also have fun crossing over a few wooden footbridges.

Alberta Falls (9,400 ft) is only 0.8 mile from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, so it’s a popular destination for those looking for a short, easy hike. I got my shot here on my way up, even though the waterfall was still in shadow, because there was no one around to see me make a fool of myself if I fell in the water. On my hike out, there must have been two dozen people here, enjoying the view of the falls.

After passing Alberta Falls, the trail continues climbing up through the forest, with a couple of places where there are some rock shelves with great scenic views north & east. Continuing south, the trail becomes rocky & open as it runs beside Glacier Nobs, then it reenters the forest a short distance before you come to the junction between Loch Vale Trail and Glacier Gorge Trail.
Hang a left at the trail junction and the Glacier Gorge Trail will take you up to the northeast shore of Mills Lake. Once you reach the lake, you’re rewarded with a breathtaking view to the south, up to the impressive headwall of Glacier Gorge, including the flat summit cap of 14,259-foot Longs Peak. (The trail follows the eastern shore of the lake and then continues for 2.7 miles to Black Lake.)

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I was exploring along the shore of the lake and, in a sheltered little “inlet,” I came across the reflection you see below. Stumbling upon a decent reflection at Mills was an unexpected, yet very welcome, surprise. It’s funny how things play out sometimes: I mean, I had hopes of (finally) getting a reflection at Sprague, but was disappointed… and I had no thought at all of getting a reflection at Mills, yet that’s where I found one. Go figure.

Mills Lake (9,940 ft) is named for Enos Mills, the “Father of Rocky Mountain National Park.” Mills campaigned tirelessly for years to promote the idea of establishing a national park in the area. Then on September 4, 1915, all of his hard work paid off when Mills attended the dedication ceremony opening the new Rocky Mountain National Park. Yeah! Thanks, Mr. Mills!!! One very cool thing about Enos Mills is that he summited my favorite mountain, Longs Peak, thirty times by himself (in every month of the year) and chalked up over 300 additional ascents as a guide. Wow.

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

gem lake hike

I hiked up to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park this past Monday morning (Memorial Day). This small pond, hemmed in on three sides by steep granite cliffs, lies at an elevation of 8,820 feet above sea level and is a 1.7 mile hike from the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead north of Estes Park. Unlike most mountain lakes in RMNP, this small pond isn’t stream-fed, but instead is just a shallow (only five feet at its deepest point), rocky bowl that collects rain water & snow melt.

I wanted to be at Gem Lake for sunrise, so I did most of the hike up in the dark. This is a popular, well-maintained trail so I didn’t have any real trouble following it by the light of my headlamp, although navigating through one sandy area took a bit of guess work. Later, on my way back down to the trailhead, I could see by the light of day that at that spot there are several ‘unofficial’ paths that branch off to explore some boulders which offer bird’s eye views of Estes Park.

Anyway, on the hike up, I made it to the lake in plenty of time for sunrise. While researching this hike, I hadn’t found very many good photos of the pond and I have to admit that one of the reasons I decided to head up there was to challenge myself to come back with some better shots. From my research, it looked like there would be a nice view across the lake of Longs Peak… if you could somehow climb up to a vantage point somewhere on the granite cliff that rises above Gem’s northern shoreline. From somewhere up on that cliff, I was sure you’d be able to see Longs Peak out beyond the “notch” in the cliffs on Gem’s southern side (this “notch” is where the trail arrives at the lake). So I followed the trail as it went along the sandy western shoreline and then, at a point just beyond the lake, I looked around on the cliff face to my right & found a likely route up the steep outcrop. I climbed up and made my way back south to a vantage point high above the lake. And, sure enough, there’s a pretty cool view across the lake from up there.

Truth be told, unless you’re willing to scramble up the cliffs to a high vantage point like I found, Gem Lake really isn’t anything to write home about. The real reason for most people to do this hike will be the unbelievably spectacular views of Estes Park, Longs Peak, & the Continental Divide found along the trail. But, like I said, my reason for doing this hike was to challenge myself to bring back a few cool shots from Gem, so once I was finally perched above the lake just before sunrise, I was excited to find the moon setting over Longs Peak and see it reflected in the still water. I think this might be my favorite shot from the hike.

Over the next two hours, I scrambled around the granite outcrops a bit, getting shots from three different vantage points above the lake. Other than trying not to drop all my camera gear down the cliff, this was a peaceful time & I enjoyed the solitude as the sun rose and lit the scene. During that entire period, I only saw two other people at the lake and both of them were just hiking on through, headed for other destinations.

On the hike out, I scrambled up a tilting rock face just below the lake (on the west side of the trail) and got the shot you see below of Estes Park, Twin Sisters, & Longs Peak. Hiking up in the dark, I missed the breathtaking views the trail offers, but I sure took pleasure in them on the hike out. There’s one point on the trail where the entire panoramic sweep of mountain peaks from Meeker & Longs all the way west to Notchtop Mountain is there in front of you. I can’t recommend this trail enough, just for these views.

And, yes, of course, I had to get a shot with Paul Bunyan’s Boot!

One final note: You don’t have to pass through an entrance station to get to the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead... or the Cow Creek Trailhead, from my Bridal Veil Falls hike last month... so you can do these hikes for free!

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

sprague lake nature trail

While my parents were out here for a visit, I took them up to Sprague Lake (8700 feet) in Rocky Mountain National Park. Sprague is a very popular spot due to its easily accessible location just off Bear Lake Road and the splendid view of the Continental Divide from its eastern shore.

The Sprague Lake Nature Trail is a level, ½ mile path that circles the lake. Although I had previously been to the lake probably half a dozen times, I have to admit that last week with my parents was the first time I’d hiked the whole way around the lake. On each of my previous visits, I’d just leave the parking lot, head around the lake over to the eastern shore by the small stream & observation deck, take my photos, & then skeedaddle. But I’m glad we did the entire loop last Thursday since there are also some juicy views of Hallett & the other peaks from farther around the trail. The photo of my parents at the top of this post is from a vantage point at the extreme eastern tip of the lake, the farthest point on the trail from the parking lot.

We were there late morning, so not the best time of day to be taking photos, & there was just enough breeze rippling the water to frustrate any good reflection shots, & there was ugly, gray overcast smeared across the sky above the snow-capped peaks, but I kept reminding myself that I wasn’t making this visit for photographic purposes, but rather to share one of my favorite places with my parents. Sprague Lake and Bear Lake (where I took my parents last summer) are both ideal spots in Rocky Mountain National Park to take folks who are visiting from lower altitudes and who aren’t up to longer hikes. Both sites feature level, well-maintained paths that circle picturesque lakes with incredible views of surrounding peaks. The entire trail at Sprague also has the added benefit of being wheelchair-accessible.

For landscape photographers, Sprague is definitely a morning location. At sunrise, the mountain peaks of the Continental Divide, photographed from the eastern shore of the lake, can light up with some fantastic alpenglow if conditions are right. Although I’ve spent some lovely mornings at Sprague, I’ve never been able to get a really nice reflection there, so that particular shot is still on my RMNP photo wish list. I’m not sure any of my future trips to this great lake can top last week, though… because even though that visit to Sprague with my mom & dad wasn’t ‘officially’ for photographic purposes, that shot I got of them on the bench is one of the most special images I’ve ever captured & is a photo I’ll always treasure.

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

bridal veil falls hike

My trusty Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide says that spring is the best time to hike up to Bridal Veil Falls because “snowmelt creates a gushing torrent that is unequalled in other seasons.” And I’m sure that’s true if you’re just strictly talking about the falls… but the hike itself will be much prettier in either early summer (after the numerous aspens along the trail have started to leaf) or fall (when those same aspens are changing color). So with that little disclaimer out of the way…


The 3.1 mile hike to Bridal Veil Falls starts off from the Cow Creek Trailhead in the northeast section of RMNP. To get there, take MacGregor Avenue out of Estes Park and stay on it as it turns to Devils Gulch Road. After driving for almost 3 ½ miles, watch for the well-marked entrance to McGraw Ranch Road on the left. This dirt road will wind around and up & down for 2.2 miles until you reach the Continental Divide Research Learning Center at the old McGraw Ranch site. You’ll need to park out alongside the road, and there’s only room for a dozen or fifteen vehicles. The hike begins here at the trailhead at an elevation of 7,820 feet and climbs to 8,880 feet at the waterfall.

Once you walk past the large barn & other buildings that make up the research facility, the wide trail (above) heads out through lovely meadows alongside meandering Cow Creek. Lumpy Ridge will be off to your left and wooded, granite outcrops loom above you to the right. The trail continues to parallel Cow Creek, but it quickly narrows as it heads up into stands of aspen & conifer trees (below).

Two miles of hiking will bring you to a trail junction (below). The main trail will go off to the left, but you’ll want to bear right and head northwest to Bridal Veil Falls. The trail begins to get noticeably steeper from this point, but it’s nothing a seasoned hiker like you can’t handle with ease. Quite a bit of the tangled forest along this section was looking rather drab when I hiked it yesterday, but- like I said at the top of the post- I’m sure it’d be much prettier after the trees have started to leaf or in the fall when the numerous aspens along the trail are changing.

You’ll cross a few small footbridges as you continue making your way up toward the falls.

The trail steepens considerably as the rugged canyon you’re heading up begins to narrow and you approach the waterfall. As you huff & puff a bit up the final, rocky stretch and finally reach your destination, you’ll find that the quarters around the base of the falls are kinda tight & you’ll understand why most photos you see of the cascade are from the same basic vantage point there on the east side of the creek.


Supposedly, if you cross the creek over to the west bank, you can then make your way up above the falls and you’ll find a picturesque scene as the creek plummets down some granite steps before reaching the dropoff for the falls. I’m usually up for stuff like that, but the lively amount of runoff/mist pouring over the falls and the height of the water in the creek meant I’d get pretty well soaked trying it, so I passed. I imagine it’d be a much easier proposition in summer, once less water is tumbling over the falls & the creek isn’t so rambunctious.

I arrived at the falls about an hour & a half after sunrise and had a tough time with the contrast difference between the sunlit trees up above the cliff wall and the shadowed waterfall & creek in the gorge below. I also, of course, wanted to get that “flowing,” silky-effect with the water. So what I finally ended-up doing is using two exposures- one exposed for the trees above and another for the falls & creek below- and in the Editor of Photoshop Elements, I dragged one image (the one exposed for the shadows) onto the other (the one exposed for the highlights) as if I were creating a new layer. Then I used the Eraser tool to rub out the “bad” trees on the top image and reveal the correctly exposed trees on the image below. This took a bit of fiddling around, but I finally messed around with it enough that a half-way decent image emerged. If I were going to do this again, I’d probably arrive a bit later in the day when the sun would be higher in the sky, or just choose a cloudy day to do the hike… either way, the entire scene would be more evenly lit.

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