Dream Lake Trail System

A left (south) turn at Bear Lake (there are signs to point the way) starts you on the trail to Nymph, Dream, Haiyaha, and Emerald Lakes and Pool of Jade. It is one of the most beautiful trails in the park and, for most of the distance, one of the easiest. Of course it is also the most heavily used.

The first 0.5 mile of trail to Nymph Lake has been paved because ordinary rock and dirt could not stand the pounding of so many feet. Although unnatural, the asphalt does prevent unacceptable erosion. You can avoid the crowds by starting your hike at six o’clock in the morning.

With an early start, you should arrive at Nymph Lake before the day’s breezes begin to ripple the pond’s surface. You may capture the reflection of Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain (anything but flat from here) among the still-shadowed lily pads on the surface of Nymph. For photos take your light reading off the sky or your meter will be fooled by the foreground shadows and cause you to overexpose the peaks.

As you walk a bit farther around the edge of Nymph, watch for the chance to photograph Thatchtop Mountain dramatically framed by burned limber pines. Longs Peak looks good from a bit farther up the hill, where it is framed by living lodgepole pines and subalpine fir. The patterns in upturned tree roots around Nymph also make good subjects.

After you leave Nymph Lake, the asphalt runs out, but the feet of thousands of hikers have beaten a trail that differs little from pavement. The path between Nymph and Dream Lakes is very picturesque, bordered with bright subalpine wildflowers and leading into magnificent views of Longs Peak above Glacier Gorge. About 0.1 mile downstream from Dream Lake, the trail divides. The left-hand branch crosses Tyndall Creek and heads toward Lake Haiyaha (see page 99). The right-hand fork continues on to Dream, 1.1 miles from Bear Lake.

Dream is the park’s most photographed lake that is inaccessible by car. Photos of the lake with Hallett towering on the left and Flattop on the right should include limber pines in the foreground.

Continuing along Dream’s right (northern) shore, the trail ascends the valley for 0.8 mile to Emerald Lake. A few places along the way are steep, and occasional photography stops are usually welcome. One good place is at a long, banded slab of bedrock smoothed by glaciers and thousands of tramping feet. Tyndall Creek tumbles across the steep rock on the left. The moisture makes possible a belt of green, including some ferns, in large cracks in the slab where soil has accumulated. Walk over the rock for a few yards to the left of the trail to compose a photo of this wild garden with the very rugged spires of Flattop rising in the background.

Forest and trail end at Emerald Lake, where casual hikers are left behind by determined explorers. The 1.5-mile stretch up Tyndall Gorge to Pool of Jade is tough and interesting. Making your way around the south side of Emerald, you face a steep series of shelves. (Do not try to follow Tyndall Creek, which flows from Pool of Jade to Emerald Lake.) As you stumble over and around loose rock of all sizes, you begin to believe that the next level grassy area must hold the pool. You are wrong many times before you are right. It is not easy for grass to win the struggle over rock. Strive to side with the living plants by treading gently. Pool of Jade is a good destination for those who want to feel as though they have hiked somewhere remote but do not want to pound many miles of trail in a long approach.

Past the bridge downstream from Dream Lake, the trail to Lake Haiyaha climbs in a series of switchbacks through dense subalpine forest where snow usually covers the trail until July. After the path crosses onto a sunny southern exposure, you get good views of Nymph, Bear, and other lakes down the valley. Just ahead, dramatic views of Longs Peak towering above Glacier Gorge are framed by dead limber pines.

Descending through limber pines, the trail reaches Lake Haiyaha 1.0 mile from Dream Lake. In June a stretch of trail near the lake may be underwater, forcing a detour over the big boulders that surround the lake. Haiyaha is said to be an Indian word meaning “big rocks.”

At the spot where the trail hits the lake stands a very striking limber pine that I have had trouble photographing adequately. Likewise, photos of the lake with Hallett above are disappointing compared with those from Nymph and Dream Lakes. But from the other side of Haiyaha, a shot of Longs Peak turns out well in the afternoon, given a benevolent cloud arrangement.

About 0.25 mile before reaching Haiyaha, the trail branches left to meet the Glacier Gorge Trail system (see the Bear Lake Road chapter). The 1.0-mile-long link between the two trail systems is quite charming. Although its views are relatively unspectacular, the path passes through wild gardens of midsummer flowers and rushing water. On this stretch of trail, I am particularly conscientious about picking up litter, scattering remains of illegal campfires, staying on the path, and educating the unenlightened about ethical wilderness behavior.