sky pond

I've hiked my share of the 350 miles of trail in RMNP. This is my absolute favorite hike in the park. This year I took some out of town guests with me and they said this was the favorite hike they ever did anywhere in the world.This hike departs from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. This parking lot fills up fast in the summer. I recommend arriving before 7:30 am or taking the shuttle. The hike is 9 miles with about 1,700 ft of elevation gain. I would recommend you be in somewhat decent shape to complete this hike. The hike is rated as moderate and I would agree, except for the climb up over Timberline Falls which is a scramble over slippery rocks.There's lots of eye candy along the way. Less than a mile from the trailhead, you will see Alberta Falls. The traffic on the trail will diminish greatly past Alberta falls. You will come to a junction about 2 miles into the hike, follow the sign to the Loch. You will arrive at the Loch after 3 miles. The Loch itself is a destination and many people turn around here. You will see a lot of fisherman around the Loch. Spend some time at the Loch and then continue on around the right side of the lake. The trail gets a lot steeper after the lake, eventually you climb the stairs to Timberline Falls. (I always dread these stairs). Timberline Falls is fed from Glass Lake above, which is where you need to get to, but turn around and take in the sights. See how far you have climbed from the Loch and the view for miles, looking out over the Continental Divide. The falls are gorgeous. One of my favorite in the park. From here you have to climb up over the side of the falls. It's a bit of a scramble, scramble plus. Be careful here, rocks are wet and slippery. Once you get to the top, you are rewarded with a view of Glass Lake. There isn't much of a trail at this point. There are some cairns to follow, but stay to the right and continue up the rocks and around to Sky Pond for a view of the lake the the Sharkstooth formation. It's usually pretty windy up here, so have a windbreaker and a hat. Then the good news is, it's all downhill from here!

The hike to Sky Pond is fairly strenuous but very doable 95% of the way. It gets very steep at the very end for a rock scramble and if you're from out of town, it's pretty exhausting due to the elevation. Be very careful on the final scramble up once you see the sign that says Sky Pond (which is about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile away from your final destination). Have good tread on your shoes and if you're not confident going up wet slippery rocks -- just hang back and don't risk hurting yourself. This is mostly a problem for people with little experience and people who don't have long legs/arms. Def. not for small kids. The risk at the end aside, this is a great hike with a ton of gorgeous views. It's rugged at the end, but it's great to be above the clouds looking down on the Loch.

So we hike alot of shorter trails with our son 6yo and this one did us all in. It was an 8 mile roundtrip hike to the top. It was indeed awesome though we thought it reminded us of hiking they do in the lord of the rings movies. Very excellent photography along the hike. The lakes you see along the way are awesome and we saw tons of wildlife in the park. We got awesome pictures of deer, moose, jack rabbit, squirrels and trout in the lake! We saw a bear on the drive in the park but it was too fast for a pic:) The waterfalls you see on the hike are beautiful. At the top of this hike though you get to a very big waterfall and have to climb rocks near the side of the waterfall. My son and I did not go up but my husband did and said it really wasn't any different than the lake that we saw lower down so i don't feel as though we missed out. It was a difficult hike up the rocks as the rocks were slippery and you had to climb them. Overall thought this was a long difficult hike but well worth it for the scenery!

This was a great hike to a wonderful lake. The hike is listed as strenous, but the hiks is actually quite easy - some parts are asphalt paved!!! But the catch is that you have to climb up the wet rock at a waterfall. The rocks are slippery and you must be in shape to be able to pull yourself up and then going down is actually harder. When we got to the lake, it was quite breezy, so we took shelter behind a large boulder to the right of the lake. Scenery is fantastic. Hike down - quite easy except for the wet rocks. My husband - 6'4" had no problem with his long legs, but for shorty me 5'4" - some of the leg stretches to get good foot holds were long.

I live in northern colorado and have done most of the hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park and the hike to sky pond is my favorite! You will pass multiple waterfalls, multiple alpine lakes along the way, and enjoy Listening to a roaring stream almost all of the way up. The hike is challenging but not too much elevation gain. The hike also give you a challenge to scramble up a waterfall, from a distance it looks intimidating, but when you get close you will see it is an easy scramble up. The scenery can not be topped! You will spend a lot of time above tree line and will gaze at the awesome peaks, lakes, and glaciers that surround you in the bowl.Couple of tips.... 1) Go in mid July through sept. Outside if these dates the snow is hard to deal with in regular hiking boots. 2). Get there early (before 7) to get a parking spot and to get a feeling of isolation early in the morning... The trail will be crowded on the way back but you will feel that you have it all to your self on the way up if you leave early in the am.3) Gaze in wonder at the awesome scenery!

I have hiked all over the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Montana, and this is, hands down, the most beautiful place I've ever been. The destination is sweetened by the challenge of getting there; namely the climb up Timberline Falls. 3 VERY IMPORTANT THINGS1. Take the shuttle or get there EARLY. I got there at 6am on a Saturday morning and got one of the last parking spots. On my way out, there wasn't a spot to be had for miles and the woman who took my spot nearly cried with joy,2. Bring hiking poles! I used them constantly on the way up. I find they help tremendously with fatigue, as well as coming down some of the gnarlier parts of the trail. I got many an envious look from lots of people I passed on my way back down (some in sandals. . . .really?!)3. Every guide book and website I read warned of afternoon thunderstorms. We had one every afternoon I was in the park, almost like clockwork. If you're gaining any kind of elevation on your hike, be at the top no later than 1pm. Maybe noon just to be safe.

This hike was amazing. Rated a strenuous hike, it's actually not that bad until you have to climb up a waterfall at the very end (and it's really not going up that's a problem, but rather getting down!). Having said that, if you're fit and able to make it up, the sights at Glass Lake and Sky Pond are WELL WORTH IT!!

We started this hike from Bear Lake, so we passed Dream Lake, Nymph Lake, Lake Hiayaha, and the Loch on the way up. All different and worth seeing. It was hard to believe there was still so much snow on the ground and we climbed and slid through snow fields on the way up and down. Timberline Falls were spectacular. After climbing up the last snow field we came to the base of a waterfall with a sign pointing up that said "Sky Falls". My first thought was "You have got to be kidding me!?!" Well up we went! It was a little scary and slippery and I kept thinking "how am I going to get down!?!" After the waterfall you arrive at Lake of Glass which is breathtaking. Keep going though about 0.3 more miles to Sky Pond. The trail was not well marked after Lake of Glass. So peaceful and beautiful at Sky Pond, nestled into the mountain. Look for the marmots!! Climbing down the waterfall was not as difficult as descending the snow fields! We took a different route out to Glacier Gorge and caught the shuttle. Highly recommend but as someone said not for small children or those faint of heart!

Very scenic hike, lots of alpine lakes to see along the way and beautiful waterfalls. We hiked all the way to Sky Pond. Was a very difficult hike for us. The last part with having to scramble a waterfall was exciting and a bit dangerous. Would not take a child on the last part.

An amazing hiking experience. Stopped at Loch Vale for abit and kept on up to the base of timberline falls. Still completely covered w snow for last 3/4 mile to the base of the falls, but doable in regular hiking boots. Other younger and more backcountry experienced people were scrambling up the falls and onto lake of glass and sky pond, but we decided to turn around. The footholds up to getting onto the rocks to scramble up up were covered w snow and give way easily when trying to get onto the rocks. Were happy to sit at base of the falls and revel in the amazing views and how far we made it despite the snow. Took about 5-5.5 hours total and we stopped for a bit at base of falls for lunch and sunbathing. Alberta falls and loch vale were also incredible!!

I was excited to do the hike to Sky Pond, but we only made it to the Loch. We went the first weekend of June and there was a lot of snow - probably about 40% of the trail between the trailhead and the Loch was completely covered in a deep layer of snow. We tried to continue on past the Loch, but with the snow, we lost the trail route and ended up turning back. But otherwise it was a pretty good hike. Nice views. Challenging, but do-able. It took us about 5 hours to the Loch and back, but we were still adjusting to the altitude, plus we stopped for lunch and had to wrestle with the snow, so you could definitely do it a lot quicker. I want to go back during warmer weather and make it to Sky Pond!

Our trip to Sky Pond, sadly, had to end at Loch Vale because of the incredibly deep snow that caused us to "post hole"; that is, we walked on firmly-packed snow and every so often our feet would sink up to our knees into the snow, creating a hole similar to one created for fence posts. But even the 2.9 mile o/w trip to Loch Vale was completely worth it (see photo).

we got an early 6am start on this hike on a clear, sunny summer day. perfect weather. it was a long, steep hike and I was glad that I could keep up with my husband and teenage son. a great memory.

This hike is challenging, steep, and gets up to almost 11,000 ft. It's not your casual stroll in the mountains. We went around October 20th and it got pretty cold that high up. Before the frozen waterfall, there was a really steep, slick slope, which I'm assuming had steps that were completely frozen over. It got a little sketchy at times. It was really windy and icy, and the last climb up a frozen waterfall was a little scary. It's one of those hikes that I could have decided not to finish, but am incredibly glad I stuck it out! The view was outstanding from Sky Pond. You don't have to be a super athlete to finish this, but you do have to have some fitness, determination, and guts. That was a good day, a very good day.

This trail is terrific. The view from the base of Timberline Falls would be reward enough. The Loch and Alberta falls on the way are also nice. The climb up the falls is challenging, and I would not recommend it for anyone not in decent shape. Sky Pond was amazing. It brought back memories of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park. I left at 5:45am and didn't see a soul until descending which was really nice as there were probably over 300 people on the trail on my way down. (Not that they all made it to the pond.)