Nymph Lake Hike Rocky Mountains

Nymph Lake Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park

The hike to Nymph Lake begins from the Bear Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP, located at the end of Bear Lake Road, nine miles from the turn-off at Highway 36. Due to the extreme popularity of the area, you may want to consider using the free park shuttle to reach the trailhead during peak tourist season. Nymph Lake gives us an opportunity to take good photos of Hallett Peak reflecting in the water in summer days. 

·         Trail Features:            Lake Views, Fall Aspens, Nymph lake

·         Trail Location:            Bear Lake      

·         Roundtrip Length:                 1.2 Miles        

·         Trailhead Elevation:              9475 Feet       

·         Total Elevation Gain:             245 Feet         

·         Avg. Elev Gain / Mile:            462 Feet        

·         Highest Elevation:                 9710 Feet       

·         Trail Difficulty Rating:           Easy

Trail Description: Just beyond the trailhead the Bear Lake Loop splits off towards the right, while the trail to Nymph Lake branches off to the left. Most hikers will stop at Bear Lake to check out the beautiful scenes from the east shore before proceeding to their ultimate destination.

From Bear Lake the trail makes a steady climb up to Nymph Lake. At just over a half-mile from the trailhead hikers will reach the south end of Nymph Lake. This pleasant lake is ringed by pond lilies, while the shore offers an ideal spot for a family picnic in summer time.

In winter it is one of famous easy snowshoeing or winter hiking for beginners, Nymph lake will be completely frozen and topped with packed snow. So, it ends up resembling like gulch/open space with snow. All the lakes are completely frozen and able to walk on it.

Bear Lake Trailhead Hikes - One-way

1.       Bear Lake

2.      Nymph Lake – @ .5 miles

3.      Dream Lake – @ 1.1 miles

4.      Emerald Lake -@ 1.8 miles

If you continue further up on the trail for a short distance, we can see a nice view of Hallett Peak standing sentinel over the lake. From there, we can continue along to go Dream Lake and Emerald Lake, which is just under four miles round-trip, or stop for a picnic under the alpine trees of the forest.