Hiking Trails in Colorado | Lake Estes Trail

Trail Information

Trail Name: Lake Estes Trail

Location: Estes Park, Colorado

Date: May 10, 2020

Time at the Trail Head: 6:00 am

Trail Length: 3.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 190 feet

Elev. at Trail Head: 7,531 feet

# of Hikers Passed: 22

# of Mnt. Bikers Passed: 0

# of Horses Passed: 0

Mosquitoes: 0

Trail Research

With all the Covid-19 restrictions and with Mother’s Day approaching, I thought it would be a great idea to take a trip to Estes Park to let my wife get out and check out some of here favorite stores in Estes Park, even if we can’t go set down and have lunch or dinner on Mother’s Day.

The trail research was easy as I knew I wanted to hike/walk around the lake.

The weather was a little more of a problem as it has been cloudy and rainy all week, pretty much all around the state, except for southwest Colorado, but I did find one morning where it was going to be clear from around 7 am to noon, so I made my plans and woke up early to be at Estes Lake at sunrise.

Drive to the Trail

The drive was not so spectacular this time because, not only was it dark out, but it was also foggy for most of the drive, which is nerve racking, due to all the Elk out along this drive from Boulder to Estes Park. I did get some nice pictures of the drive as I left Estes Park, but instead of driving to the East, the way I came in, I left to the south, towards Nederland.

Now, let’s get to the early part of the day when I started my hike/walk around Lake Estes.

My Day on the Trail

The clouds had started to clear on the pass coming into Estes Park from the town of Lyons, but as you can see, the clouds are still in the town of Estes Park below.

It was in fact cloudy and foggy when I reached the Estes Lake trailhead so I slept for 30 minutes, hoping the clouds would clear. It finally started to look lighter in the sky, through the clouds, so I took that as a sign that it was time to start my hike.

The fog was still sitting low near the ground but the wind was light and I could tell this was going to be a gorgeous morning in Estes Park.

I noticed that with the light wind, I was going to have some great reflections on the lake. I knew it was going to take another 30 minutes for the clouds to begin dissipating, so I slowed down and enjoyed watching Lake Estes wake up.

I finally saw the first glimpse of the sun over the eastern side of Lake Estes.

I kept turning around and looking for the first glimpse of some snow packed peaks and more of the sun rising, while taking more pictures of the reflections on the water.

There is a nice golf course on the north side of lake Estes, called Lake Estes 9-Hole Golf Course. It provided some beautiful photos in the morning light. You can also see Fall River flowing into Lake Estes.

There is a concrete trail all around Lake Estes and plenty of places to stop and enjoy the magnificent views.

There is a beautiful pedestrian bridge on the north side of the lake between Fall River and Lake Estes.

There’s also a peninsula off to the right of the bridge that will give you some great vantage points on the Lake.

I was also able to catch the rising sun’s reflection off the lake out on the peninsula.

The thing I loved most about this morning hike around Lake Estes was watching the sunrise and the valley come to life.

You can also get your first glimpse of some snow packed peaks in the photo above.

I was finally back on the path, heading east, but not before capturing a few more beautiful photos.

The fog was really starting to lift now and you could catch more glimpses of the blue morning sky.

This morning kept getting better and better.

I finally saw the mountains on the southeast side of Lake Estes through what looked to be a hole in the cloud.

It was at this point that the skies really began to clear and reveal some majestic views in the valley.

I knew there were a lot of elk in the area around Estes Park, and I was pleasantly surprised when I ran into a small herd of elk at the Lake Estes Marina.

The clouds were nearly gone as I reached the east side of Lake Estes. You have to walk down below the dam on the east side before walking back up to the road on the south side of the Lake.

This is where I started getting some grand views of the mountains on the north side of Lake Estes as the clouds had completely lifted off the lake. This first photo is of the mountains south of Estes Park.

You can see the Lake is still very calm with some great reflections.

My kids have told me that you can see an Indian laying down across the lake in the next photo. The Indian’s head is to the right and the feet are to the left.

The have been to summer camp many times in the summers over the last 6 years here, so I’m sure they heard that from one of the camp counselors.

I want to show you the next photo of nearly the same shot but within 10 minutes, the wind had picked up and the mirrored reflections on the lake were mostly gone. This is another reason I love starting my hikes early in the day.

I’m not sure if you know this but much of the movie, “The Shining” was filmed at the white hotel here in Estes Park.

You can see the Stanley Hotel on the left side of the above photo and better in the photo below.

I was getting closer to my truck and the trailhead but there were still a few great photo ops remaining.

I was about to put my camera up when I noticed a bird perch high up in the sky and what I believe to be an American Eagle.

I tried to get a closer look and I’m pretty confident this is an American Bald Eagle sitting on top.

Trail Recommendations

This is not really a hike but I still strongly recommend taking this 3.4 mile walk around Lake Estes, early in the morning, followed by some shopping and dinning in Estes Park.

This is truly an amazing place to visit.

Lessons Learned

Early morning hikes are the best times to get out in Colorado.

Bring some binoculars in case you see some elk or possibly an American Bald Eagle.

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Check out this short video of the Lake Estes Trail on YouTube.

I would love to know if you have had any experience on this trail or have other trails you love to hike. Leave a Comment Below or send me an Email.

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Lake Estes Trail

9.8

Scenic Drive

10.0/10

Accessibility

10.0/10

Mountain Views

9.5/10

Lake or Stream Views

9.5/10

Well Maintained Trails

10.0/10

Pros

• Easy Access
• Grand Views
• Incredible Drive
• Gorgeous Lake Views
• Estes Park

Cons

• Not Really a Hike
• Traffic Can Get Heavy