Favorite Fall Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park

Check out a newer (2020) updated version of this post on my new blog: The Best Easy Fall Hikes In Rocky Mountain National Park

I can’t claim to be an expert at hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. I’ve only been there twice and only once during the fall. But I did find several pretty spectacular fall hikes! Rocky Mountain National Pak has a whopping 355 miles of hiking trails, which means this National Park has a hiking trail for every skill level. Remember, hiking in altitude is way more difficult if you are not used to it. It’s always smart to start with a less strenuous hike. It really is too bad that Rocky Mountain National Park isn’t more dog friendly, there are so many awesome lake trails here!

Rated as an easy hike at 1.6 miles Alberta Falls is a heavily trafficked out and back trail. It features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels. Dogs are not permitted on this trail, but horses are!

Rated as an easy hike at 2 miles Dream Lake is a heavily trafficked out and back trail. While it was an easy hike, the altitude had us all a little winded. You pass both Bear Lake and Nymph Lake on this trail and it’s one of my absolute favorites in Rocky Mountain National Park. These trails are not dog friendly.

Rated as an easy hike at .8 miles it is a heavily trafficked loop trail that offers wildflowers and is good for all skill levels. This is not a dog friendly trail, but it is great for stretching your legs!

Rated as moderate this 4.4 mile hike is pretty lightly trafficked compared to the first two hikes. It’s an out and back trail that offers chances to see wildlife, as well as, a beautiful lake. This is not a dog friendly trail

If you go just a little further on the Dream Lake trail you get to Emerald Lake. If I had time I would have loved to go to Emerald Lake. It’s a 3.1 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail. It’s best used from April to November and is not dog friendly.

Chasm Falls via Old Fall River Road is rated as moderate at 2.5 miles. It’s a heavily trafficked out and back trail and features a waterfall. I’m a sucker for a good waterfall! This trail is not dog friendly.

Gem Lake Trail is rated moderate at 3.1 miles and it a heavily trafficked out and back trail. It features a lake and is not dog friendly.

I believe that Alberta Falls is on the Glacier Gorge trail, but we didn’t go any farther than the waterfall itself. This trail is rated easy at 2.8 miles and is a moderately trafficked out and back trail. This is not dog friendly.

You can also get to Sky Pond via the Glacier Gorge Trail. This is rated hard and a total of 8.1 miles. There is another option for Sky Pond, via the Bear Lake Trail, this is also rated hard at 8.7 miles. Both are out and back and both look well worth the hard rating!