The last stop on my summer of 2021 road trip in Colorado was Estes Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park. Feeling fresh after a few 14er summits followed by a couple days off, I had planned on climbing Longs Peak. However, that fell through, but I was still in a world class hiking destination! Instead, I decided on a hike to Mills Lake and Black Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.
While this hike is much easier than a 14er summit, the views are still awesome! Multiple alpine lakes, waterfalls, and granite summits are just some of what this trail has to offer!
Miles/Elevation:
9.7 miles
1,643 feet vertical gain
About Rocky Mountain National Park:
Located in the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the highlights of the entire National Park System. While it is not the only national park in the Rockies, it does contain some of the highest peaks of any national park in the country, most notably, the 14,000+ foot Longs Peak.
Located a bit more than 50 miles northwest of Denver, Rocky Mountain contains about 265,000 acres of pristine mountain wilderness. Rugged peaks and ridges, wooded valleys, mountain streams, and rare alpine tundra make up the bulk of Rocky Mountain’s environs.
With all this beauty and proximity to a major population center comes lots of visitors. In recent years, Rocky Mountain has seen absolutely huge visitation. Millions of people visit the park each year, and considering most of those visitors come during summer, this has led to major congestion in the park. As a result, reservations are required to visit the park. Make sure you know about the timed entry system before you visit!
Getting To The Trailhead:
The best trailhead to reach Mills Lake and Black Lake is the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. From Estes Park, take highway 36 into the park, and then turn left onto Bear Lake Road. Continue on Bear Lake Road for around 8 miles. After a bit over 8 miles, the Glacier Gorge Trailhead will be on the left. There is a pretty large parking lot on the left.
From the west side of the park, take highway 34, also known as Trail Ridge Road, through the park, and then turn onto Bear Lake Road. Again, continue about 8 miles to the trailhead.
Note, this trail gets extremely busy, and even if you have a timed entry reservation, you may not be able to get parking, even by mid-morning. Any time after about 6 am, parking may not be available, so arrive very early, or risk not having parking.
The Black Lake Trail:
To Mills Lake:
After arriving at the parking lot well before sunrise to make sure I got a spot, and then sitting around killing time until the sun came up, I finally set out on my hike towards Mills Lake once the sky was light!
The first part of the trail takes you through alpine pine forest as you begin ascending towards the lakes. At first, you don’t get much for views, but before long, the views do begin to open up. Views early on primarily look east, away from the high peaks of the park, but with the rising sun, it makes for a beautiful shot!
Consider purchasing an America the Beautiful Pass if you are visiting Rocky Mountain!
One of the highlights of the early part of the trail is Alberta Falls. Found about a mile into the hike, this waterfall breaks up the early slog through the woods nicely, and gives you a good waypoint for the hike out too! Once the sun is up, this is one of the busiest spots on trail in the entire park, so if you want it to yourself, get there early!
Roadtripping through Colorado? Check out all of our road trip planning tips!
Past Alberta Falls, the trail continues climbing through the woods without too much for landmarks. It’s a bit under 2 miles from Alberta Falls to Mills Lake with only about 500 feet of climbing, so it should go pretty quickly. Really the only notable landmark is a log bridge over a stream crossing, and once you reach the bridge, you’re almost there!
Once at Mills Lake, you immediately get an awesome view looking over the water up the valley. The slopes to the right are heavily forested, but on the left, steep rocky ridges curve gently right and form a stunning backdrop at Mills Lake! I chilled here for a few minutes and had a quick snack, and then continued onto Black Lake!
To Black Lake:
The hike from Mills Lake to Black Lake takes you further up the valley Mills Lake lies in. After passing Mills Lake on its left side, the trail continues up the valley.
Early on, there are a ton of marshy areas, and you actually walk on wooden boardwalks for pretty substantial sections of trail. I’m not talking miles, but there are multiple sections of boardwalk, each one being probably at least 100 feet, some much longer.
After the boardwalks finish and you finish with the marshy areas, the trail gets much more rugged. The early parts of this hike have well graded, wide, smooth trails. Above Mills Lake, it gets much more technical. I didn’t have any issue with it, but people not accustomed to hiking or older individuals may struggle.
After coming around a corner at one rough section, I saw not 50 feet ahead of me a cow elk and it’s calf. They seemed pretty well accustomed to people because they actually continued on the trail towards me, and only turned off once they were within 15 or 20 feet. I wouldn’t advocate getting that close to wild animals normally, but I didn’t want to rush back and spook them, and they were the ones advancing towards me, so I sat tight.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
First the cow went past and then headed into the bushes, and then the calf followed shortly after. I would actually see more elk on multiple occasions on this hike, but this was definitely the closest interaction!
You’ll find bears in the Rockies so always be bear safe!
Anyway, the trail continues climbing up the valley, and continues to get rougher. Eventually, it opened up to a waterfall falling into a large open meadow. Once you’re here, Black Lake is close!
The trail climbs up the left side of the waterfall, but it is pretty rough. I actually spent some time rock hopping along the trail as opposed to walking on the trail itself. It was just a bit too steep and loose. Once at the top of the falls, you should be able to see Black Lake!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
The final obstacle between you and Black Lake is a small boulder field. The creek flows around these boulders, and there is no real trail to be found, so just hop across rocks until you reach the waters edge!
Black Lake is a pretty incredible place! Rising from the waters edge are lightly colored stone cliffs which would be impressive on their own, but the most impressive feature of the lake are the peaks that lie beyond!
Huron Peak is a great easy 14er to challenge yourself on if you’re visiting Colorado!
Just poking above the granite cliffs are soaring peaks thousands of feet higher than the cliffs nearest to you! The most dramatic of these peaks is a mountain known as The Spearhead, an incredibly dramatic, nearly vertical, spire! Beyond The Spearhead are multiple 13,000 foot peaks, and on the flanks of the lake are other 13,000 foot peaks and another cool mountain called The Arrowhead!
The hike to Willow Lakes is another great alpine lake hike!
Black Lake is really awesome. The views over the lake are insane. The views to the sides of the lake are insane, and even the views looking back down the valley are insane. As I enjoyed the views and sat down for another snack, I spotted another elk grazing in the grass beneath me. That made for another awesome viewing experience! Overall just a magical place.
Hiking Out:
From Black Lake, the hike out back to the trailhead is straightforward enough. There aren’t any intersections to deal with until below Mills Lake, so just follow the trail back the way you came. It’s a bit rough at the beginning as you’ll know by this point, but just keep hiking downhill.
Between Black Lake and Mills Lake you’ll probably encounter very few people, but the traffic really picks up once you reach Mills Lake. You’ll also be hiking back later in the morning or in the afternoon, so the traffic will definitely be more significant than on the way out! I generally don’t mind busy trails, but it does get a bit extreme, especially around the classic photo ops like Alberta Falls.
Anyway, after a pretty easy descent, you’ll be back at the trailhead in no time. I think this is a really good hike, and I honestly enjoyed just about all of it. The lakes are beautiful, and even the trail between the lakes offers great views and wildlife, a pretty great combo!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
In a place that has some amazing hikes, this definitely deserves to be considered among the best. I can’t say I’ve done every hike in Rocky Mountain, but I’ve done quite a few hikes to alpine lakes all around the west, and this is one of the better ones!
The views from start to finish are awesome. The lakes themselves are beautiful, but even along the trail you have awesome views. The trail is really well made and maintained for the most part, not surprising in a national park. You also have a really good chance of seeing wildlife on this hike. I saw a number of different elk, super cool!
All in, this is a really good hike that should be on your list if you are visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. Is it a bucket list level hike? Not quite, however, you definitely will not regret hiking this trail!
Pros:
- Great views throughout
- Beautiful lakes
- Opportunities to shorten or lengthen
Cons:
- Super busy trail and parking
- Permits required
Alternative Hikes:
When To Hike To Mills and Black Lake:
This trail will take you near 11,000 feet, so the biggest factor to consider is snow. There will likely be snow here until well into May, and probably into June. Peak hiking season in Colorado is July and August, but you should be able to hike to Black Lake from June to September or October.
I generally prefer hiking early in the season, but all I can say is the best time to hike this loop is once the snow has melted. Whether that’s May or early June is impossible to say. Keep an eye on the conditions, or just wait until sometime in June and you should be good pretty much any year! Although, the fall colors among the aspens would be spectacular!
Links For Further Reading:
Hiking to Mills Lake, Jewel Lake and Black Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Black Lake Trail – Colorado | AllTrails
Black Lake – Hike to Black Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
