We wrote previously about some easy hikes around lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park. We also did a little more strenuous hike to a different water feature, the beautiful Alberta Falls.
How to Get to Alberta Falls
There are two ways you can get to Alberta Falls. The easiest and most common is to park at, or take the shuttle to, the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. From the trailhead you will follow the Glacier Gorge Trail about .6 miles until you reach the falls.
The second way is to start at the Bear Lake Trailhead but instead of going around the lake you can head south, following signs for Alberta Falls. This adds about half a mile, making the total distance to the falls just over a mile and the road trip distance a little bit more than two miles.
When we went the Glacier Gorge parking lot was completely full so we parked at Bear Lake and did the lake loop first. Then we took the shuttle to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead and hiked to Alberta Falls, then instead of taking the shuttle back we just went the extra distance to hike back to Bear Lake. We should have done this the reverse of what we did though because Bear Lake his higher up than Glacier Gorge, but we did not know they connected at the time.
What You Will See
No matter which trailhead you choose to start from most of the trail up to Alberta Falls will be the same. You will walk through a beautiful Rocky Mountain forest. You will eventually meet up with Glacier Creek and follow it to the waterfall.
Make sure that you turn off at the waterfall where you can scramble up some rocks to get closer to it. The trail continues on for longer hikes further up. You can do one of these longer hikes if you wish, but if your plan is just to hike to the falls make sure you don’t just keep following the trail.
There is plenty of room on the sloping rocks near Alberta Falls to stop and rest, have a snack or picnic, and take some pictures. The falls cut through a channel of rock making a very impressive site and spraying onlookers with a refreshing mist.
Sum Up
The hike to Alberta Falls is not as easy as the other hikes we did in Rocky Mountain, but it is not particularly difficult either. It is well worth the hike to get to the falls. We were able to do it with our whole group which included a two year old and a grandma. I brought some hiking poles on this hike and everyone ended up taking turns with them and they proved helpful in getting up the rocks to the falls at the end.
This trail (and the extensions after the falls) is very popular, so plan to arrive early to get a spot. Toilets are located at both Glacier Gorge and Bear Lake trail heads.
