Mills Lake Hike – Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park – Trail Map, Pictures, Directions & More

Mills Lake is yet another beautiful alpine lake located in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. The lake sits at 9,940 feet, making this a great moderate hike with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. This is a great hike in all four seasons.

Difficulty – Intermediate
Distance – 5.6 miles miles round trip (9.01 km)
Height – 9,940 feet (3,029.7 meters)
Elevation gain – 780 feet (237.7 meters)
Duration – 3 to 5 hours (book time)
Seasons – Year-round
Trailhead Location – Glacier Gorge Trailhead or Bear Lake Trailhead

Need to know: Dogs are not allowed in Rocky Mountain National Park.

 

Trail Map

 

Trails

There are two common starting locations for this hike, both are below:

 

Glacier Gorge Trailhead | 5.6 Miles| 780 Feet Elevation Gain

This is the most common path to head towards Mills Lake. If the parking lot is full, just continue on to Bear Lake Trailhead, park, and begin hiking from there.

Beginning at Glacier Gorge, hikers will travel .25 miles to the first junction of the Glacier Creek Trail, and the trail leading to Bear Lake. Hikers bear left, following the signs to Alberta Falls and Sky Pond.

.8 miles into the hike, hikers will reach Alberta Falls, a beautiful 30 foot waterfall that is extremely popular in summer months. The trails will have less people (but still quite a few) beyond this point.

1.6 miles into the hike, hikers will reach the North Longs Peak Trail Junction where hikers will need to bear right towards Sky Pond.

2 miles in, hikers will reach Mills Junction. To the left is Mills Lake and Black Lake, hikers will turn left here. Bearing right would bring hikers towards Sky Pond and Andrew’s Glacier.

A short distance after turning, hikers will cross Glacier Creek. Near the crossing, there is a side trail that will take hikers to a gorgeous little waterfall. Only .6 miles from the junction (2.6 total miles in), hikers will reach Mills Lake. The trail continues along further, and hikers should walk along to get some nice vantage points of the lake.

Retrace the path back to the parking lot from here. Hikers may also choose to continue on to the beautiful black lake, or take some detours on the way back.

 

Bear Lake Trailhead | 5.8 Miles | 800 Feet Elevation Gain

This route is only slightly different than starting at Glacier Gorge. The only difference is the first .4 miles. Here this trail descends to cross paths with where hikers will have started from Glacier Gorge. This portion of the trail is heavily trafficked year round. This route will add just a tiny bit of elevation gain, and .2 miles to your overall round trip. We recommend starting from Bear Lake if the Glacier Gorge trailhead has no parking.

 

Hiking Mills Lake in Winter

Mills lake is stunning in winter. The amount of people on this trail dissipates in winter making it very enjoyable. The trail, views, and lakes look entirely different as well. Traction is highly recommended (microspikes or snowshoes). Most of the trail is fully manageable without traction, but as always, traction should be brought for caution. Snowshoes may be needed during certain times of year and is defendant upon snowfall.

Both trailheads are open and can be driven to in winter months due to Bear Lake Road being nicely maintained. Check park road closures during snowy times to be sure.

 

Fishing Mills Lake

Mills lake has quite a solid population of brook trout and greenback cutthroat trout. This is a great fishing spot in summer months.

 

Directions & Parking

These are two large parking lots (bear lake trailhead the biggest), but these are extremely popular areas. Parking fills up extremely quickly on nice days. In many cases, hikers will need to use the National Park shuttle system to get to these trailheads during the busy months. Information on this can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/shuttle_bus_route.htm 

 

To Glacier Gorge Trailhead

To Bear Lake Trailhead

Continue along bear lake road for .9 additional miles and you will reach the trailhead. This is the end of Bear Lake Road.

 

Current Weather Conditions

Here is a detailed weather forecast:

Allenspark, CO

This Afternoon
Snow showers likely and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Partly sunny. High near 42, with temperatures falling to around 35 in the afternoon. Southwest wind around 12 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than half an inch possible.

Tonight
Snow showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Cloudy. Low around 26, with temperatures rising to around 28 overnight. West wind 13 to 29 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Friday
Snow showers likely before noon, then snow showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. High near 38, with temperatures falling to around 35 in the afternoon. West wind 13 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 52 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Friday Night
Snow and a chance of thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 25. West northwest wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible.

Saturday
Snow before 9am, then snow and a chance of thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 28. North northeast wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.

Saturday Night
Snow and a chance of thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 21. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

Sunday
Snow showers before noon, then snow showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 31. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

 

Additional Pictures

Views from The Loch (Loch Vale)