How to Hike to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park – One of RMNP’s Best Day Hikes
If you’re looking for one of the best day hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, the hike to Sky Pond has to be high on your list.
A moderate hike with a decent distance and elevation gain, the hike to Sky Pond will bring you to three alpine lakes, two waterfalls (one of which you scramble up!), and some of the most gorgeous alpine scenery we have ever seen. The grand finale views at Sky Pond itself are worth the effort, trust us.
If you’re up for the challenge and want to escape the crowds along some of Rocky Mountain National Park’s super popular hikes such as that to Emerald Lake, stick around! Because we’ll be going over everything you need to know for this epic RMNP hike. So let’s get to it, shall we?
Article Contents
Sky Pond hiking stats
Sky Pond trailhead
Rocky Mountain National Park shuttle
The hike to Sky Pond - an overview
Add-ons to the Sky Pond hike
Best time to hike to Sky Pond
What to pack for the Sky Pond hike
Tips for hiking to Sky Pond
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Sky Pond Hiking Statistics
Trail type: Out and back
Distance: 8.9 miles
Starting elevation: 9,490 ft
Highest elevation: 10, 880 ft
Total elevation gain: Approximately 1,790
Time to hike: Approximately 4 hours – 2.5 hours up and 2 hours back (plus any time to hang out and enjoy the lakes, which we recommend you do!)
Trail profile:
A few notes about these numbers: These statistics were tracked by our Garmin watch and refer to a starting and ending point at the Bear Lake Trailhead. You can also start the hike from Glacier Gorge (which we go over below in just a sec).
Our trail profile is one way, as we did this hike as part of a larger loop (check out the Sky Pond-Emerald Lake Loop if you’re interested in this bigger day hike!) but since this is an out and back hike, the trail profile for the way back will just mirror the one shown.
How to Get to the Sky Pond Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park
There are two possible trailheads for the Sky Pond Hike.
The first is from the Glacier Gorge trailhead. This is found along the park’s main corridor – Bear Lake Road, right before the end. It’s a tiny lot, so it fills up early. Really early. We drove by at 5:45 am and it was full. Starting from Glacier Gorge is the shortest path to Sky Pond (but only by 0.2 miles roundtrip). It’s still a similar elevation gain, however. The Glacier Gorge trail sits at about 9,240 feet, about 200 feet lower than the other trailhead, but the path from the other trailhead starts off by dropping this 200 feet right off the bat and then climbing back up, so the difference is negligible.
The other main trailhead for the Sky Pond hike is from the Bear Lake parking lot. Leaving from this trailhead only adds 0.2 miles round trip to the entire hike to Sky Pond, so it’s fine to park here. This is located at the very end of Bear Lake Road. Although it’s the most popular trailhead in the park, as it leads to many of Rocky Mountain National Park’s best hikes, it doesn’t fill up quite as fast as Glacier Gorge because the lot is so big. But still plan on getting here early. At 5:45 am, the lot was about a fifth full and filling fast. We would say arrive between 6:30-7 am to claim a spot.
And just a head’s up, it is a good idea to start this hike early for a few reasons, primarily to avoid the crowds on the trails but also, and more importantly, to avoid the inevitable afternoon thunderstorms characteristic of the Rockies (more on that later).
The Rocky Mountain National Park shuttle
If waking up at the crack of dawn to find a parking spot doesn’t sound appealing to you, you’re in luck! RMNP has a super awesome and convenient shuttle system that runs the length of the Bear Lake Road corridor. Stopping at various places along the road at regular intervals, you can simply take the shuttle to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead or Bear Lake Trailhead to start your hike and then catch it back to your car when you’re done. Check the NPS website for more on the routes and times.
What we did: We drove and parked at Bear Lake. We were doing Sky Pond as part of a larger loop and the Bear Lake lot was more convenient for that. Plus, Glacier Gorge was full at 5:45 am!
Hiking to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park - An Overview
The hike to Sky Pond was our favorite hike in Rocky National Park. The view of the characteristic rock towers known as the Shark’s Tooth at Sky Pond are definitely worth the effort to see. So, let’s break down the hike so you know what to expect!
Bear Lake to Alberta Falls
The first milestone of the hike is Alberta Falls, a beautiful alpine waterfall.
From the Bear Lake Trailhead, you’ll follow the signs towards Alberta Falls. The trail starts off at a slight downhill as it heads towards the junction with the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, which you’ll arrive at after a quick 0.4 miles. From the Glacier Gorge trailhead, it’s a quick 0.3 miles to this junction. This is the only difference between the two trailheads!
From this junction, it’s 0.6 miles to Alberta Falls. The trail is a well maintained dirt path and has a slight upward grade through a quiet forest.
There’s a small viewpoint from the trail out towards Alberta Falls. You can stop here for a quick view and then continue on your way down the trail or wander carefully around the boulders here to enjoy the falls a bit more.
Alberta Falls to the Loch
From Alberta Falls, your next milestone is The Loch, your first alpine lake of the day. It’s about 1.73 miles from here.
The trail continues to climb gently until eventually you come out from the tree line. If you started your hike early enough, you’ll get some beautiful alpenglow off the newly exposed mountain faces as the sun starts to rise (just another reason for that grueling early wake up call!).
As you continue to climb, you’ll come across some beautiful overlooks back out over the valley.
On your way to the Loch, you’ll pass by two junctions. Once is for Boulder Brook (towards Long’s Peak), and the other is for both Mills Lake (to the left) and Haiyaha Lake (to the right). All the intersections along the trail are very well marked so it’s easy to navigate. Just keep going straight, following the signs towards the Loch.
You’ll continue to make your way deeper into the valley, and eventually you will hit a series of switch backs which make for a steady climb up, but it never gets too steep. If you look carefully at one of the switchback’s turns, you can spot a small waterfall through the trees.
Shortly after finishing the switchbacks, you’ll end at the first of a series of beautiful alpine lakes of the day.
You might be tempted to stay and hang out at the first viewpoint of the Loch that you get…but a little insider tip: the views of the lake just get better the further along the trail you go! Continue along the right side of the lake on the trail and get views of the epic mountain backdrop behind The Loch.
The Loch to Lake of Glass
Next up… Lake of Glass, which is arguably even more epic than The Loch! Glass Lake is about 1.3 miles from here.
Once passed The Loch, you’ll continue along a forested trail that crosses some small streams using wooden planks and gradually climbs up through the valley.
You’ll eventually emerge from the forest to a beautiful alpine meadow with a rocky moraine ahead. Here, you’ll notice a beautiful waterfall in the distance. That’s Timberline Falls, and you’ll be climbing up the side of it in just a bit!
This is where the trail gets really fun! As you pass through the meadow and come up to the base of the moraine, the trail becomes more of a rocky staircase, which is, in combination with the waterfall section of the hike ahead, pretty much the most strenuous section of the day’s hike…but it’s fun!
You’ll make your way up the path, and you’ll start to notice the rocks becoming slippery from the water trickling down from the base of the waterfall…which means you’re getting close!
At the top of this rocky climb, you’ll be standing right along side Timberline Falls. Just next to it is a slippery vertical path up the side of the falls, making for a fun little scramble in the middle of the hike. The section has pretty good hand and foot holds, but the rocks are, of course, slippery, making it a tad bit more challenging, but it’s super fun!
It’s pretty short section to climb up, and from the top, it’s just a short walk across a rocky path to the base of your second epic alpine lake of the day…Lake of Glass.
Take your time and enjoy the awesome view here, but if you can believe it, Sky Pond is even better, so when you’re ready, keep on going!
Lake of Glass to Sky Pond
We read that many people actually stop at Lake of Glass thinking it’s Sky Pond. It doesn’t really surprise us, since many of the signs along the trail after the Loch only mention Sky Pond rather than Lake of Glass, so without a map or researching the trail ahead of time, you might think this lake is your final destination along this trail. Also, the trail beyond Lake of Glass is a bit tricky to find. There are no signs here directing you where to go, nor any obvious trail along the lake’s rocky shoreline. We knew this was Lake of Glass and not Sky Pond, but honestly, the only reason we really knew where to go next was by seeing where some other people were going.
To get to Sky Pond from Lake of Glass, you basically just traverse along the right side of the lake across the rocks and boulders. Once you get around to the back side of the lake, a dirt trail will start to appear to let you know you’re on the right path.
From here, it’s a pretty easy and quick walk to get to Sky Pond, without much climbing. You’ll know you’re getting close when you can see the characteristic spiky rock tower backdrop of Sky Pond starting to appear on your right.
Finally, you’ll emerge at the base of Sky Pond – our favorite view in Rocky Mountain National Park! The lake is surrounded by a gorgeous mountain backdrop, including those characteristic rock towers known as the Shark’s Tooth.
A small crowd might form here at the base of the lake (when we were there, there was about a dozen or so people), so we would definitely recommend wandering around and finding a quiet secluded place to enjoy the lake in solitude. We wandered over to the left side of the lake to get a straight on view of the Shark’s Tooth (highly recommend!). And keep your eyes out (and ears open!) for cute little pikas and marmots scurrying around the rocks.
We hung out at the lake, enjoying the views, taking pictures, and eating lunch for about an hour and had our secluded little spot all to ourselves while we looked over at the crowd forming at the base of the lake.
Sky Pond Back to the Trailhead
When you’re done enjoying the views at Sky Pond (you never will be really), it’s time to head back down. Simply retrace your steps all the way back to the trailhead.
A note on crowds: On the way up to Sky Pond, the trail was practically empty, and the solitude was nice. A small crowd of about a dozen or so people built up at Sky Pond, which wasn’t bad at all, especially because we were still able to find our own spot to ourselves. The way back down was a totally different story. As we hiked back, we must have passed by more than a hundred people hiking up to Sky Pond, which slowed us down a bit as we kept having to pull aside to let people pass in the other direction. For reference, we left Sky Pond at about 10 am. There was a huge back up at Timberline Falls and at the rocky climb leading up to it, making me so happy for our early wake up call. I feel like that kind of crowding would have made the hike less enjoyable for sure.
The midday crowds making their way up to Timberline Falls
Add-ons to the Sky Pond hike
If you’re looking for even more time out on the trails, there are a few options to tack onto your hike to Sky Pond.
Mills and Black Lake. At one of the junctions between Alberta Falls and The Loch is the trail that heads to these two alpine lakes. From this junction it’s about 0.6 miles to Mills Lake and about 2.8 miles all the way to Black Lake. We never made it out to these lakes, so if you do, let us know how they are!
Lake Haiyaha. We loved this lake. It was unexpectedly gorgeous and there was virtually no one there. At the same junction for Mills Lake is also the trail towards Lake Haiyaha. From this junction, the lake is about 1.25 miles away. From Lake Haiyaha, you can head back the way you came, or you can continue onto meet up with the Emerald Lake Trail to see three more epic (and very popular) RMNP lakes (Nymph, Dream, and Emerald).
We did this loop, which is 11 miles of awesomeness. Check out our complete guide to hiking the Sky Pond - Emerald Lake loop.
Bear Lake. This is an easy add on to your day, especially if you parked at the Bear Lake lot. An easy flat 0.6 mile stroll around the lake is a good way to end your day in the mountains.
Best Time to Hike Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park
The best time to hike in Rocky Mountain National Park is mid-summer to early fall. Depending on the snowpack from the winter, the snow can linger in the higher elevations such as along the hike to Sky Pond, into June, and sometimes even July. And snow can fall as early as September (it did the year we were there, closing down some park roads temporarily!). Be sure to check the conditions on the NPS site before you go.
What to Pack for the Sky Pond Hike
Sturdy hiking boots – with grippy soles, ankle support, and waterproofing- mostly for the hike up to Glass Lake around the Timberline Falls portion
Rain gear – a rain coat and pack cover in case you get stuck in the pouring rain (like we did almost every day we hiked in the park!)
Trail map – the trails are well marked and well signed but always a good idea to have to see how far you have left and help you plan
Hat and sunscreen – a good portion of the hike is exposed and the summer sun can be strong
Layers – you’ll be climbing up to just below 11,000 feet!
Lots of water and snacks
Tips for Hiking to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park
Start early. We’ve already mentioned two reasons…for parking reasons and for crowds, but also…
Afternoon storms. When people say the Rockies have a lot of afternoon thunderstorms, they mean it. Pretty much every day, storms develop over the mountains like clockwork at around 1 or 2 pm. Plan on being below tree line, or better yet, off the trails, by this time if storms are in the forecast. Always check with a ranger (there should be one at the Bear Lake Trailhead) before starting, and plan out your time on the trail. Know your pace so you know how early you need to start.
Acclimate. Much of the Sky Pond hike is over 10,000 feet, so you will definitely feel the altitude up here, especially if you’re not well acclimated. Spend a couple of days in the park doing lower elevation hikes, such as the Emerald Lake hike., Deer Mountain, Gem Lake, or Bierstadt Lake. Make sure to stay well hydrated by drinking lots of water. When timing out your hike, it’s good to factor in time for a slightly slower pace than your used to, since you might be affected from the altitude.
Don’t feed the critters! The animals (I’m looking at you, chipmunks) at RMNP are some of the most bold and aggressive ones we’ve ever encountered! Don’t give into to their cuteness and offer up your snacks, and don’t leave food unattended out or bags open…they won’t be afraid to crawl right in! Always practice Leave No Trace principles and pack out all your waste with you.
We help this helps you plan out an amazing day hiking to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park. Let us know if you have any questions or if you plan on visiting the park in the future…we love to help!