Alberta Falls

The Trail
This hike is easy, but there are a couple different routes you can take to get to Alberta Falls. We decided to hike it from Bear Lake and then end at the Glacier Gorge parking area. Since shuttles run between the different parking areas here, it is easy to start a trail from one place and end it somewhere else. If you go the route that we did, your trail will be a 2 miles round trip with a 338 foot elevation change. Note though that the trail starts at a higher elevation than the falls is when going this way. The trail first drops down to Tyndall Creek before connecting with the Glacier Gorge Trail at 0.4 mile, and then climbing up again to the falls.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

Alternatively, you can start your hike from Bear Lake and return there for about a 2 mile hike to the falls and back, or you can start from the Glacier Gorge parking area and return there for a roughly 1.9 mile hike round trip. It is about 0.3 mile from the Glacier Gorge Parking to the trail split.

Before reaching the waterfall, the trail opens up for a view of Glacier Creek. From here it continues to follow the creek up to the falls.

First view of Glacier Creek from the trail

Glacier Creek

Golden Banner

The trail suddenly opens up again when it reaches the falls. Glacier Creek roars through a granite chute before plunging over Alberta Falls and continuing its cascade down the mountain slope.

Alberta Falls

Water flowing just above the falls

If desired, you can continue up the trail after the falls to hike up Glacier Gorge to Mills Lake, or you can head up along one of the other connecting trails this direction, like the trail to The Loch Lake/Timberline Falls/Sky Pond (a small part of this trail continuing up is shown in green in the maps above).

Vault Toilets are available at both trailheads. As with other hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, no dogs are allowed on the trail.

Directions
This trail is located in Rocky Mountain National Park, which is next to Estes Park in Larimer County, Colorado. To get there, take US-36/Moraine Ave. east from Estes Park into Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that there is a fee to enter the park. Turn left onto Bear Lake Road and continue to the parking area at the end of the road. The trail is at the far end of this parking area (N40 18.718 W105 38.757). Alternatively, you can start from the Glacier Gorge Junction Parking area, which is before Bear Lake (N40 18.629 W105 38.408). Note that the parking in both these lots almost always fills up early in the morning, in which case you will have to park at the Park and Ride station and take a shuttle to the trailhead.