Timber Lake

A typical Rocky Mountain National Park day trek leads to Timber Lake, which is located on the west side of the mountains where there are fewer people. The 4.6-mile route begins at a major trailhead in Kawuneeche Valley along US 34 just before the difficult climb up to Trail Ridge. Like many other paths in the park, most of the hike is through thick pine woods, albeit with occasional views of the valley and the surrounding mountains, but the trees are more dispersed towards the upper reaches, mingling with meadows and open streamways, and the forest stops completely shortly before the lake, which sits at the very upper end of a ravine at 11,060 feet elevation, lined by rocky slopes on three sides.

Timber Lake is one of the best lakes to visit in the Rocky MountainsThe maintained trail finishes here, although it is quite straightforward to climb the hillside to the south, up to a saddle above neighboring Julian Lake, and on to a flat summit that affords good views of the valley to the west. In the other direction, the land slopes up at a similarly moderate gradient by another 1,000 feet to Mount Ida on the continental divide. The trail is notable for a great number of different wildflower species, reflecting the varied habitats along the way, including streams, dry meadows, boggy meadows, moist and dry forests, lakeshore,s and tundra. The lake and the meadows are also renowned wildlife locations; elk and moose are frequently spotted, bears less often.

Location: several miles from the Timber Creek Trailhead on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park