Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park

Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
Duration: 4-6 hours
Date Hiked: August 1, 2022
Mileage: 9.4 miles
Elevation: ~1,800 ft elevation gain
Trailhead: Glacier Gorge Trailhead (out-and-back)
Destinations: Alberta Falls, The Loch, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass, Sky Pond
Trail Map

We only had one day at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), so the pressure was on to spend that time wisely. And boy, did we make it count!

We flew out to Colorado for a weekend in late July to celebrate Reko’s cousin’s wedding in the mountain town of Buena Vista. After the wedding festivities, we headed north to Estes Park, a town that borders RMNP. We had limited time in Colorado because we were flying out right after to Kauai for our combined mini honeymoon (delayed thanks to COVID) and two-year wedding anniversary.

With just one day in the park, we wanted a hike with striking scenery that offered the best views of the area—and with as little crowds as possible. This was a tall order but the hike to Sky Pond delivered! (Note: The trail wasn’t completely empty but the congestion was tolerable given the popularity of the hike.)

LOGISTICS

Timed Entry Reservation

Visiting RMNP between May 27 and October 10 requires a timed entry reservation (in addition to the national park entrance fee). You can find more information about the reservations here. The Glacier Gorge TH that leads to Sky Pond is located on Bear Lake Road Corridor (BLRC). Timed entry permit reservations for Bear Lake Road Corridor are in effect from 5am to 6pm.

Visit recreation.gov to book your timed entry reservation. You’ll have the option to select a two-hour window of when you plan to enter RMNP. You must enter the park during your reserved two-hour entrance window. Timed entry permits are valid for one day only. If you plan to visit the park for multiple days, you’ll need to make a reservation for each day of your visit.

Each reservation has a nonrefundable $2 processing fee. You can obtain your timed entry reservation on recreation.gov during the open period for reservations. 70 to 75 percent of the reservations are available at 10am Mountain Time on the first day of the month for the following month. For example, if you plan to visit the park in August, you’ll need to make your reservation on July 1 at 10am MT.

If you’re a last minute planner or missed a reservation when they were initially released, 25 to 30 percent of reservations are reserved and available for purchase the day prior to your visit at 5pm MT.

Reko researched and found the hike to Sky Pond months before our trip (which I’m very grateful for), but he forgot to make a timed entry reservation. He was supposed to set a reminder but it slipped his mind. I was reading reviews about the hike on AllTrails a week before our trip and I came across a review that mentioned a timed entry permit. I was upset that he dropped the ball but we still had two options to access the park: try for the reservation the day before our visit OR enter the park and BLRC before 5am. Obviously, the first option is much less painful.

So, on the afternoon of Sunday, July 31st, we hung out at Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver (solid beers, btw!) and waited for 5pm to roll around so we could make our reservation for the next day. Luckily, this brewery had strong wifi so we were able to snatch a reservation for an entry window of 8-10am. I was relieved we didn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to start our hike.

Map courtesy of nps.gov. The orange Bear Lake Route is the free shuttle service managed by the park.

Parking

The Glacier Gorge parking lot is small; I think it fits ~20-25 vehicles. If you don’t arrive early, be prepared to wait for a while for a spot to open up. There is no parking at the side of the road. We arrived at the parking lot at 9:30am on a Monday and it was full. We did a few circles but didn’t see anyone leaving.

You can also start the hike from the Bear Lake parking lot, which is much larger. It adds roughly a quarter mile to the total roundtrip distance. We drove to Bear Lake but the lot was also full.

So, depending on when you start this hike, you may have to take the free park shuttle from the Park & Ride to the trailhead. This is what we had to do. I wish we would have just gone to the Park & Ride first and not try to find parking at Glacier Gorge/Bear Lake as that wasted at least 30 minutes of our time. And as luck would have it, when we turned back for the Park & Ride, we arrived during the peak time. Reko was fortunate to find a parking spot. But we waited in line for an hour for our shuttle. The shuttles come every 10-15 minutes. You can find details on the park shuttle system here.

Acclimatization
For out-of-town visitors, I highly recommend you spend a couple of days in Estes Park so your body can acclimatize to the higher elevation. The hike starts at 9,000 ft and climbs to 10,900 ft. Coming from the Bay Area where we are at sea level, we spent the weekend in Buena Vista (8,000 ft elevation) so our bodies were used to the altitude. This is a tough trek without the high altitude so acclimatization helps immensely and can prevent altitude sickness.

Pro Tip

Bring a pair of gloves! They come in super handy for the climb up Timberline Falls. More on the climb in the trip report below.

LEAVE NO TRACE

We saw quite a lot of trash along the trail so here’s my friendly reminder to pack out all your food wrappers and garbage. This is a highly impacted area so please leave it better than you found it.

TRIP REPORT

We got off the shuttle at Glacier Gorge Trailhead and started our hike. The trail is well maintained and heavily trafficked. It’s around 60% exposed and 40% shaded. This is essentially an uphill climb to Sky Pond. Reko and I are avid hikers and I would say we’re fit. We finished the trek in five hours; our moving time was 3hr 20min and the remaining time we spent eating lunch, taking photos, and stopping to enjoy the views. The ascent was gradual and not too challenging for us but we saw some people struggling.

Alberta Falls

Mile one is super congested with lots of folks. The first major landmark on the trail is Alberta Falls, which is 0.8 miles from the trailhead. This is a very popular waterfall and extremely photogenic. However, we opted not to stop and take photos because there were so many people and we wanted to beat the heat and crowds at Sky Pond so we booked it past the falls.

Other than Alberta Falls, there isn’t much to see in the first mile since you’re under trees that obscure your view. However, as you continue to climb, around mile 1.5, the scenery opens up to sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and forests. The viewpoints when you are above the tree line are sensational. You get a sense of the vast expanse of the park.

After the waterfall, the trail turns into a series of switchbacks for about a mile. The trail follows the path of Icy Brook. There was an impressive section of the brook that I personally found more impressive than Alberta Falls. The white water cascaded over boulders through a lush green canyon.

The Loch

We continued through switchbacks along the cliffside for about a mile oohing and ahhing the entire time. At mile 3, we arrived at The Loch. This lake is also really busy but despite this, I was completely enthralled by the scenery in front of me: tranquil, clear blue waters nestled under craggy peaks laced with patches of snow. The huge rock face on the right is Cathedral Wall (a thrill for rock climbers!). The hike along the shores of The Loch was delightful and provided different vantage points. This was also the only part of the hike that was relatively flat for a good distance (~½ mile) and gave us a reprieve from climbing.

Timberline Falls

The trail continues on the right side of The Loch. From the end of The Loch, it’s roughly another mile until you reach Sky Pond—with one more formidable obstacle: Timberline Falls.

The push to Timberline Falls was the most strenuous part of the hike for us. It is a steep climb up a boulder field to reach the waterfall. Once you reach the falls, you will be bottlenecked by people ascending and descending the falls. We brought gloves specifically for this section. Although you don’t need gloves to make it through the falls, they helped tremendously as we scrambled up slippery and slick rocks. In most of this segment, there is only room for one hiker at a time to safely navigate the falls so please be patient. We saw a young boy (he announced to everyone that he was seven years old) traverse the falls so this is definitely doable for most people, including kids. You just need to be diligent and take your time.

Lake of Glass

At last, we scrambled to the top of Timberline Falls and WOW. A glassy, deep blue lake cradled by jagged mountains adorned with white snowy patches greeted us. Many people mistaken Lake of Glass for Sky Pond. So did we. We thought we made it and headed to the left bank of the lake to eat our lunch and take in the enchanting views. It wasn’t until Reko checked his trail map did we realize we were at Lake of Glass, and we still had 0.5 miles to go to reach Sky Pond! Womp womp. Sky Pond is hidden by the elevation; Lake of Glass is below Sky Pond so you cannot see it from Lake of Glass.

Despite not arriving at the main attraction, we were enthralled by Lake of Glass. I’ve seen my fair share of alpine lakes and Lake of Glass is at the top of the list. You will understand how it got its name: sparkling still water reflecting the sharp peaks surrounding it. It is a perfect panoramic view of the mountains.

As we munched on our lunch, we enjoyed the free entertainment provided by a daring young couple who were cliff diving. We watched as they pumped themselves up for their plunge into the icy water. While we did not partake in this activity, it’s an option for adventurers who are not shy to (almost) bare it all in front of many watchful eyes.

After we finished our lunch and snapped lots of pictures, we were ready for the final stretch to Sky Pond. This part of the trail is a bit hard to find in the forested shores of the lake. We meandered around until we found the trail. By this time, the sky turned gray and we practically ran to Sky Pond.

Sky Pond

Rugged peaks encircle Sky Pond. The surrounding mountains slope right down to the lakeshore, which is laced by boulders that are perfect for taking a seat and soaking in the scenery. We didn’t hang out very long at Sky Pond. Although beautiful, we found Lake of Glass more captivating and dramatic. The mountains are so tall and so close to Sky Pond, it made it hard to appreciate the landscape in its entirety.

Side note: Sky Pond is bigger than Lake of Glass; yet, it’s called a pond (and Lake of Glass is called a lake). Odd and confusing.

After snapping a few pictures, including the The Sharkstooth (dramatic granite spires), we began our journey back to the trailhead. It was a quick descent. The scramble down Timberline Falls was fast because it was pretty empty at that point. We whipped out our gloves and scrambled down. I saw some people on their booties scooting down the rocks. You gotta do what you gotta do to get down.

The clouds grew darker as we continued our descent. We were 15 minutes away from the trailhead when it started to rain, and then it was pouring. Luckily, we brought our rain jackets so we were relatively dry but some unsuspecting hikers were not as fortunate. When we finally reached the trailhead, we were not out of the woods yet. We had to wait for a shuttle to take us back to our car at the Park & Ride. The line was long (with no cover) and patience was waning. The only shelter was the small area in front of the outhouses. Everyone was crowded in that tight space, trying to stand under the small roof. We couldn’t get onto the first shuttle. As we waited for the next one, loud claps of thunder reminded us how volatile weather in the mountains can be. The raindrops grew bigger and heavier as they splattered all around us. My body started to tense up from the cold. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the road as we impatiently waited for the next shuttle to rescue us. At last, a shuttle turned into the parking lot and we streamed into the bus for cover and warmth. We made it back to the Park & Ride as the rain started to ease.

Despite the wet ending, the hike to Sky Pond was phenomenal and one of my favorites in my hiking career. Our time at RMNP was brief, but we had a grand adventure and I can’t imagine a more splendid way to spend those precious hours.