Spring Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park

If you’re traveling to Rocky Mountain National Park during the shoulder season before the snow has melted, it can be tough to find snow free hikes. During our mid May trip in 2024, All Trails reviews showed there were still a few feet of snow on some of the more popular trails we wanted to check out like Emerald Lake, Dream Lake, and Sky Pond. While you can hike to them in the snow, that was not what we had in mind on this trip so we did some research on other hiking trails in the area.

The hikes compiled below are based on conditions during May when we visited. Depending on the year, some may be more snow covered, where other popular trails not listed may have less snow. They are sorted by area of the park below with their distance and elevation gain. If we have any notes on the hike I’ve included them as well!

Fall Ridge Road Area

• Alluvial Fan Trail – We checked this area out while doing a scenic drive through the park. Short hike and you learn about what an Alluvial Fan is and how it was created in this area.
  • .7 miles and 82 ft. elevation
• Hidden Valley Nature Trail (Loop)
  • .4 miles and 62  ft. elevation
• Aspenglen Loop, North Deer Mountain, and Little Horseshoe Park Loop
  • 3.9 miles and 544  ft. elevation
• Chasm Falls Old River Road
  • 4.2 miles and 531  ft. elevation
• Deer Mountain Trail
  • 6 miles and 1394 ft. elevation

Bear Lake Area

• Fern Lake and Cub Lake Loop
  • 10 miles and 1952 ft. elevation
• Cub Lake Loop – We decided on this hike for a longer day hike in the area. We saw two moose and wild turkeys on the way to the lake. Highly recommend this one in the Spring.
  • 6 miles and 744 ft. elevation
• The Pool via Fern Lake
  • 3.3 and 249  ft. elevation
• Fern Lake
  • 7.5 and 1500 ft. elevation
• Fern Falls via Fern Lake
  • 5 miles and 741 ft. elevation
• Tuxedo Park via Moraine Park and South Lateral Moraine Trail
  • 1.8 and 219  ft. elevation
• Sprague Lake – This is more of a walk and less of a hike but love this area and took the walk one evening.
  • .8 and 36  ft. elevation
• Emerald Mountain
  • 1.5 miles and 944  ft. elevation

The Needles 

• MacGregor Falls via Lumpy Ridge, Black Canyon, MacGregor Falls Trail
  • 6.3 miles and 977 ft. elevation
• Gem Lake Trail
  • 3.2 miles and 987  ft. elevation

Beaver Meadows Area

• Beaver Mountain Loop
  • 4.2 miles and 849 ft. elevation
• Beaver Ponds via Cub Lake Trail
  • 2.4 miles and 104 ft. elevation

Cub Lake Loop is one of our favorite hikes we’ve done. The wildlife was great, the elevation was a good challenge, and it only took a few hours in the morning. We highly recommend it. If we had more time in the area, we could have also considered doing the Gem Lake Trail, Fern Lake, and the Beaver Ponds (we heard there were moose in the area)!