I would love to go back and hike the section we did on the last day, but without smoke. View listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place. From the parking lot, follow the trail as it ascends through rugged rock outcroppings and take in the sweeping views of Estes Park and the surrounding mountains. Compare elevation, range, calories and other trail metrics. Rocky Mountain National Park charges a fee to enter. Gem Lake is a short but strenuous hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn’t see a single person until we made it to Gem Lake that evening. If you are looking for a short, family-friendly hike, and don’t mind a bit of a stair climb at times, this is a good hike to add to your to-do list. Length: 1.6 miles to Gem Lake; 3.8 miles to Balanced Rock or 4.6 miles to Cow Creek. I definitely pushed myself to the extreme, but absolutely loved it! Oops. Snow is packed to the point of ice in a few parts, but we didn't need any traction. Difficult â You can make a large 11 mile loop by starting with the easy portion above and continuing up and around in a clockwise manner until you reach a branch in the trail that take toward the Cow Creek Trailhead. The Gem Lake Trail is located 3.5 miles from Estes Park, Colorado (CO) in Rocky Mountain National Park. A rough trail drops steeply from Gem Lake for 1.65 miles through an aspen-ponderosa forest back to the trailhead to complete the loop (11.05 miles : 7,870'). This trail goes by Gem Lake Trailhead. Photos and blog post to come soon, and hopefully it won’t take me as long to post about that trip as it took me to post about this one. Trail Map | Photo Gallery. Used spikes but didn't really need them. This trail goes by Gem Lake Trailhead. The Gem Lake Trail is an out-and-back trail, but it does meet up with another trail between Gem Lake and Balanced Rock if you want to do a much longer loop hike. This section is the most technical of the entire loop as it's a bit challenging with rocks, willows, streams, and occasional moose. This section of trail, all the way to Gem Lake, is a steep slog. Your Mom & Aunt Nancy look like season pros. You will start a descent and head east. We couldn’t have done it without your guidance. Named after the precious stones pearl, opal, sapphire, jade and diamond, the lakes are said to sparkle majestically in the sunlight, just like gemstones. See the Gem Lake entry for details. Compare elevation, range, calories and other trail metrics. Discover trails like Gem Lake Loop Trail Colorado, find information like trail length, elevation, difficulty, activities, and nearby businesses. Browse photos, see new properties, get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia. This is a moderate loop trail to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Download an official Rocky Mountain National Park map for basic road and attraction locations. Well kept trail. Download the free Estes Park topo map. Some destinations have a higher price of admission than others. Gem Lake is a popular trail that originates at the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead. Conditions were good. Finally, at around the 4-mile mark, you reach a rock outcrop and a beautiful view of Gem Lake below. 23 Homes For Sale in Gem Lake, MN. stunning Gem Lake. Gem Lake Trail is a 3.4 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Estes Park, Colorado that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Beautiful trail full of woods, mountains, snow-capped peaks and so many beautiful sights and sounds. The parking lot was emptying out as backpackers were trickling back to their cars after their Labor Day weekend trips, so I was looking forward to a few quiet, people-less days with the trees. It fills a shallow depression near the top of Lumpy Ridge, a massive granite rock complex home to numerous raptor species and world class climbing. Not only the locals but also people around the world come to enjoy an amazing hiking trip. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from April until September. We had beautiful weather the whole day – mostly blue skies, which was a nice treat after the previous day’s hazy skies. It is a very scenic trail that goes through varying terrains from meadows to marshes to aspen and conifer groves. At just over 8 miles from the trailhead you'll reach the side trail that leads to Balanced Rock. Gem Lake Loop, Emigrant Wilderness The fires last September squashed our original plans of hiking the Thousand Island Lake loop, so I spent hours trying to find a last minute, not smokey/not on fire backpacking trip that my mom, my aunt and I ⦠The wilderness was ours alone the next day. The Rush Creek trail heads up past Gem Lake and Waugh Lake … Definitely do this hike, keep your mask handy when you see other hikers approaching who put theirs on, and enjoy not being indoors! This is a difficult loop trail to No Camping in Stanislaus National Forest. Although the entire trail is only a 5.5 km loop, we’ve chosen to stay overnight because of the stories we’ve heard about the seven kettle lakes at the bottom of a series of winding ridges. You'll take this all the way down to Route 34. I loved this hike. Loved the boulders. We packed up quickly and started the 9 mile hike back to the car. Length 3.4 miElevation gain 990 ftRoute type Out & back We arrived at the trailhead around noon on a Monday. As of 10/12/20 Lumpy Ridge entrance is closed because of the fires. There is a parking lot near the RV park as well as street parking across the road from the trailhead. Gem Lake - 3.3 Miles Round-Trip Gem Lake is located 1.65 miles from the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead on the northeast side of Rocky Mountain National Park. After just under two miles, you'll emerge at Gem Lake. Beautiful colors surround the lake in autumn as … Instead, continue heading south on the Lawn Lake Trail. We drove here and the entrance was blocked, then checked RMNP Facebook. The names alone tell the story I suppose—you certainly wouldn’t expect easy hiking in … (There is also a privy on the trail near Gem Lake.). Gr. I'd check there before you drive to the entrance, take the twin loop trail that's 2 mile round trip, in between take the climbers access loop thts 0.5 mile loop but super elevation.. v difficult.. the twins loop otherwise is easy. There will be several points where you’ll think the climbing is finished, only to discover that they were only "false summits". This is a good spot for a break. The plan was to start at the Crabtree Trailhead and spend three nights hiking to/around Gem Lake. It is named "Gem" due to Theodore Agnew's reference of this lake being the "Gem-O'-the-Mountains" and referenced as such in McClure's mapping of the area in 1896. And in that moment, among the trees of the Boreal forest and along the edge of a gem lake, I feel like I am twinkling and glittering too. Bing Maps has a collection of great trails with directions to trail heads as well as photos. The Gem Lake Trail is an out-and-back trail, but it does meet up with another trail between Gem Lake and Balanced Rock if you want to do a much longer loop hike. Gem Lake: 246 acre lake at 9050 feet and is about 2.6 miles from the trailhead. Not only do you get to visit a pretty lake but you also get sweeping views of Estes Park with Longs Peak in the distance. Balanced Rock is interesting, but again nothing spectacular (especially compared with all the beauty elsewhere in RMNP). This was a two days trip going out to Gem Lake via the Crabtree Trail and back via the Bell Meadow Trail. Gem Lake is a popular trail that originates at the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead. Within an hour, the lake looked much different than it did during our lakeside sunrise. The hike up to Gem Lake is the most strenuous part of the trail. The only downside is the no dogs but that comes with the territory. Emigrant Wilderness: Gem Lake Loop Skip to entry content. As I settle into the hammock, gently swaying back and forth in front of Opal Lake, the sun shines down and warms my skin. Download an official Rocky Mountain National Park map for basic road and attraction locations. In my opinion, Gem Lake itself is nothing to look at. However, we continued on to Gem Lakes (10,915 ft), only a mile further up the trail and 4.2 miles from the start of the hike. Beautiful Aspens at this time!! 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