Trailhead
Bear Lake Trailhead
The trailhead where Bear Lake Road ends, at 9,475 feet: the short loop round Bear Lake, and the trails to Nymph, Dream and Emerald lakes, Odessa Lake and Flattop Mountain. The lot is often full by 9 am.
The trailhead at the top of Bear Lake Road, which climbs 9.2 miles from its junction with Trail Ridge Road near the Beaver Meadows Entrance; the park says the destination is popular enough that the lot fills early all year, especially on winter weekends and holidays. A marked path leads from the lot to the lake; the park lists the Bear Lake loop at 0.6 mile, Nymph Lake at 0.5, Dream Lake at 1.1, Emerald Lake at 1.7 and Flattop Mountain at 4.2 miles one way. The park expects snow on the Bear Lake Trail from late October to early June and advises traction devices and waterproof boots.
Read on the park’s Bear Lake Road corridor page, timed-entry page, shuttle page and park roads page.
At a glance rmnp · hiking · lakes · shuttle
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Checked by [FIRST NAME], October 6, 2026 against nps.gov. Hours and phone numbers change fastest, so the business’s own page is the record. Report a correction · Know something opening or closing? Tell us
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