Mills Lake is one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve done in Rocky Mountain National Park, and at the time, it was my furthest hike yet. Starting from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, the hike to Mills Lake is about 5.3 miles round trip with 780 feet of elevation gain and a maximum elevation of about 9,940 feet.
This hike was supposed to be a girls’ hike with four of us, but in the end it was just my sister-in-law and me. And honestly? We had a fantastic time.
There was no brother rushing us to get to our destination, so we could stop, take pictures, enjoy the scenery and actually take our time. We even got to have a little lunch on the Estes Park Riverwalk afterward instead of eating in the van on our way home. Win!
The timing was pretty perfect, too. We hit the trail when the fall colors were absolutely gorgeous. A week later, I hiked part of this same trail again when my mom came to visit, and most of the leaves were already falling.
I love how quickly the landscape can change in Colorado.
If you’ve read my post about hiking to Alberta Falls, you’ll recognize part of this trail. The hike to Mills Lake passes Alberta Falls, so it’s a familiar stop if you’ve already read about that hike.
It turned out to be a beautiful, bright sunny day for a hike to Mills Lake.
A Little Photography Experiment
I was using a 2-8 neutral density filter for the first time, so I pretty much left it around 2. Since I was hiking with someone who wasn’t my husband, I really didn’t want to take a bunch of time to stop and play with it. 😂
I definitely wanted to try it, though. There was so much beautiful water along the trail, and I would have loved to slow the shutter speed down and really capture the movement in the falls.
I would have loved to capture the falls with a slow shutter speed – one day…
Oh, and because I had the ND filteron, I left my lens cap and lens hood at home. Lots of lens flair in some images.
A Very Persistent Chipmunk
And then we met this little guy. 😂
My sister-in-law had dropped an empty trail mix wrapper while trying to get her phone out to take his picture. She picked it up, of course, but apparently that didn’t discourage him.
He checked out my sister-in-law first, then decided my sweatshirt looked like an excellent place to explore. Apparently, hikers are just walking snack dispensers.
Thankfully, he eventually moved on. 😂
Maybe The Loch Next Time?
As we got closer to Mills Lake, we came across a sign showing that The Loch wasn’t much farther down the trail. At that point, I remember thinking, Hmm… maybe I could do that.
Mills Lake was already the furthest I’d ever hiked, so I wasn’t quite ready to add more miles that day. But knowing The Loch was within reach gave me something to work toward on another hike.
This was my furthest hike to date, and apparently I was already thinking about going farther next time.
You Never Know Who You’ll Meet on the Trail
One of the things I love about hiking is that you never really know what you’ll run into along the way.
We passed a group of kids on a field trip, and a little farther down the trail we came across a National Geological Survey team doing some work in the area. It was a good reminder that these trails aren’t just beautiful places to hike. They’re also places where people are learning, exploring and doing important work.
And yes, we were still hiking!
Finally, We Reached Mills Lake
After hiking 5.3 miles round trip, we finally made it to Mills Lake. And let me tell you, it was worth every step.
The lake was beautiful, surrounded by mountains and fall color, and there was something pretty satisfying about knowing this was the furthest I’d ever hiked.
Of course, we had to stop for a while and take it all in. And take a LOT of pictures. Because that’s what happens when you bring a photographer on a hike.
Heading Back to the Trailhead
After spending some time at Mills Lake, it was time to turn around and head back to the trailhead.
The nice thing about hiking is that the trail can look completely different when you’re heading back. The light had changed, and I found myself stopping for even more pictures along the way.
And honestly, after making it to Mills Lake, the hike back felt pretty good. I had just finished my furthest hike yet, and I knew I could probably push myself a little farther next time.
A Stop at Alberta Falls
On the way back to the trailhead, we stopped at Alberta Falls for a quick picture of the two of us. Since the trail to Mills Lake takes you right past the falls, it seemed like the perfect place to stop and document the hike. And after making it all the way to Mills Lake, we definitely deserved a picture together.
Lunch in Estes Park
After our hike, we headed into Estes Park and had lunch along the Estes Park Riverwalk. It was a pretty great way to end the day, especially after making it to Mills Lake.
We had beautiful views, good food, and plenty of time to sit and relax before heading home. And for me, there was one other little victory: Mills Lake was officially my furthest hike yet.
I’m pretty sure I left already thinking about what I could tackle next.
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