Mills Lake from Glacier Gorge

The walk starts at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead on Bear Lake Road, which has a small parking lot and a stop on the Bear Lake shuttle. The trail passes Alberta Falls, carries on past the junction with the North Longs Peak Trail, and at the Loch Vale junction bears left into Glacier Gorge. It climbs on to Mills Lake, named after Enos Mills, the naturalist who campaigned for the national park. From the shore you look up the gorge to Longs Peak, the Keyboard of the Winds and Pagoda Mountain. Return the same way.

It is 5.6 miles (9.0 km) round trip with 790 feet (240 m) of climbing; allow about 3 hours. The grade is Easy: a steady climb on a good trail, though the altitude makes it feel harder.

Mills Lake is at about 9,940 feet, so go slowly if you have just come up from low ground. Summer thunderstorms are common: head back if storms are building. Outside summer, expect snow or ice on the trail. From May 22 to October 18, 2026, a Timed Entry+ Bear Lake Road reservation is needed to drive Bear Lake Road between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The Glacier Gorge lot is small and fills early; over the same dates, the Bear Lake shuttle stops at the trailhead.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.