Lake Haiyaha Trail
From Hiking
| Lake Haiyaha Trail | ||
|---|---|---|
| Location: | Estes Park | |
| Maintained By: | National Park Service | |
| Starting Elevation: | 9500' | |
| Elevation Gain: | 1000' | |
| Length: | 4.5 miles | |
| Difficulty: | moderate | |
| Last Hiked: | 8/26/08 | |
[edit] Finding the Trail Head
From Estes Park, enter the Rocky Mountain National Park on US-36. Turn left on Bear Lake Road and follow it to the end. On weekdays it's generally possible to park in the Bear Lake parking lot. On weekends, park at the Park and Ride and take the Park shuttle.
[edit] Description
The first half mile of the trail to Nymph Lake is easy (and actually paved). From Nymph Lake follow Chaos Creek to Dream Lake. The trail climbs away from Dream Lake steeply, affording a magnificent view of the next valley over (a "U" shaped valley containing The Loch). Once on top, the trail flattens out, but it's still a mile or more to the boulder strewn shore of Lake Haiyaha. In fact, the boulders that seem to form the shore are surrounded by water making them technically part of the lake. Note that although the trail is generally well marked, there is no sign telling you you've arrived at Lake Haiyaha. The trail just peters out at the final scramble over the rocks to the edge of the lake.
[edit] Experience
The Lake Haiyaha hike is pretty from end-to-end, the trail winding alongside the creek and past lakes through shady pine forest. In the higher reaches, daisies and Pearly Everlasting are everywhere.
