We tried to hike to Sprague Lake last weekend too but without snow shoes it was next to impossible to get to, so we tried again this weekend. We had a fantastic time!
There is a small shop in Estes Park called The Warming House that rents snow shoes for only $8 per day! Comes with shoes and poles. We thought that was a great deal so we tried it out. The snow shoes were in great condition and worked very well!
These are the snow shoes and poles we rented. We hiked around Sprague Lake and then took the trail from Sprague Lake to Glacier Creek Trail. Round trip we probably did two miles on the snow shoes. That may not sound like a lot but it was a work out! |
| Sprague Lake |
This is Sprague Lake, frozen obviously. I can imagine how beautiful this lake is in the summer time. It was absolutely beautiful with the snow and the sun glistening off the lake.
This trail is off of Bear Lake Road. The trails in this area are almost the only ones accessible this time of year, and even they can be difficult to get to. Bear Lake was pretty snow and ice covered, but we took the Subaru.
To get to Sprague Lake Trail head enter the park through the Beaver Meadows entrance and take Bear Lake Road just past the park and ride lot. The next left will take you to the lake. From that trail head you can walk the .5 miles around the lake or near the picnic area starts another trail that leads to the Glacier Creek Trail, which is what we took.
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| Glacier Creek Trail |
This trail can be as long or as short as you're willing to hike or snow shoe. I highly recommend this trail for snow shoeing. I may not have any others to compare it to, but it's not a steep or highly traveled trail so it made for a perfect first time snow shoeing excursion.
It's a beautiful and peaceful trail, although there isn't anything spectacular to see along the way. We still had a great time and really enjoyed the snow shoes! We will definitely be doing it again so stay tuned!
