Lily Lake Trail

Lily Lake is the small lake beside Colorado 7 south of Estes Park, inside Rocky Mountain National Park but outside the Bear Lake corridor, with a flat, packed loop around it that anyone can walk: 0.8 mile, no climbing, Longs Peak and Mount Meeker across the water, and a boardwalk along the marshy east shore. It is the park's most accessible trail after Bear Lake and far easier to reach.

From the lot, the loop circles the lake in either direction on a wide, level path of packed gravel and boardwalk. The west side runs along the base of the slope under ponderosa with the best view of Longs Peak; the east side crosses the marsh on boardwalk where the ducks and the occasional moose are. Benches and fishing spots line the shore.

The Lily Ridge trail climbs a short way above the west shore for a higher view and adds about half a mile; the Twin Sisters trailhead, a much bigger climb, is across the highway. Most people walk the loop in half an hour and sit for another half.

Lily Lake is on Colorado 7, 6 miles south of Estes Park, with a paved lot directly off the highway and a second lot across the road. There is no entrance station here, but the park entrance pass is still required, and the timed-entry permit for the park outside the Bear Lake corridor applies between 9 AM and 2 PM in season. The lot fills by mid-morning in summer. Toilets at the lot.

No dogs anywhere on park trails. The loop is the best trail on this site for wheelchairs, strollers, and anyone unsteady on rock; the surface is packed and level with boardwalk over the wet parts. The lake is fished for trout with a Colorado license. The lake sits at 8,930 feet. Estes Park, 10 minutes away, has every service. The Estes Park hikes page lists the harder trails, and Chasm Lake starts at the Longs Peak trailhead 3 miles south.