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gem icon The Loch [Suggest Edits]

44 votes
  1. Areas
  2. CO
  3. …Front Range
  4. …Rocky Mountain National Park
  5. Bear Lake
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Description

This stunning subalpine lake is worth the hike in. The skyline at the Loch is dominated by the Sharktooth (12,630'), Mt Taylor (13,651') and Thatchtop Mountain (12,668').

Half-Day Hike: Hike in using the Loch Vale Route from the Glacier Gorge Junction TH or the Bear Lake TH.

Gem Type: Lake
Shared by:
Brian Smith

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Check-Ins

Sep 3, 2024
Tom Herr
Gorgeous lake with 2 glaciers on the ridge line above. Beautiful photos of the clear lake while following the Sky Pond Trail.
Jul 18, 2023
Ievgen Ivanov
Oct 8, 2022
Connor Greenhalgh
With Abby
Oct 1, 2022
Amy Cutino
Kira's bday hike! It rained a little bit
Oct 1, 2022
Kline
Great morning. Rough afternoon. All in all, a spectacular day
Sep 21, 2022
Tom Franks
All the way to SkyPond
Sep 19, 2022
Ma Gl
Beautiful spot
Jul 2, 2022
Shantonu Mandal

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Nearby Trails

8.3 mi 13.3 km Sky Pond
Difficult Difficult
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Update
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26.5 mi 42.6 km Pawnee-Buchanan Loop
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73 
3.3 mi 5.4 km Emerald Lake
Intermediate Intermediate
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Update
368 
14.0 mi 22.5 km Longs Peak - Keyhole Route
Difficult Difficult
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Difficult Difficult
Estes Park, CO
Unknown
Update
134 
8.2 mi 13.3 km Chasm Lake
Difficult Difficult
Estes Park, CO
Difficult Difficult
Estes Park, CO
Unknown
Update
114 
6.0 mi 9.7 km Loch Vale
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Minor Issues
Update
Snowy
57 days ago
88 
5.7 mi 9.1 km Best of Bear Lake Area Loop
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Unknown
Update
138 
5.3 mi 8.5 km Ouzel Falls & Back
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Minor Issues
Update
Snowy - Summer TH still closed. Patchy snow til 1.5miles in then solid snow. OK up to Calypso then lots of postholing.
12 days ago
122 
0.6 mi 1.0 km Bear Lake Trail
Easy Easy
Estes Park, CO
Easy Easy
Estes Park, CO
Unknown
Update
89 
6.1 mi 9.9 km Cub Lake Loop
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Intermediate Intermediate
Estes Park, CO
Unknown
Update
73 
Shared by Brian Smith on Aug 18, 2015. All Page Views: 5,440. Last Month: 4.
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