Heading to Denver, Estes Park, or Rocky Mountain National Park soon? Chasm Lake is a hike you will not want to miss! The trailhead is about a 2 and a half to three hour drive from Downtown Denver, but the drive is easy and scenic. The views throughout the whole hike left me in awe, I found myself turning to my friend every five minutes saying oh my gosh this is real life, like this is Earth! Do not get me wrong there are many beautiful hikes all throughout Rocky Mountain National Park that we were looking into when deciding what hike to do, but Chasm Lake is absolutely top tier and cannot be missed. I must say it is challenging, and a lot of it is uphill. There is even a rocky path where you basically have to climb up, using your hands, just to get to the end view of the lake. So depending on your activity level, this might not be the hike for you. I would say my friend and I are like the average human, not out of shape but we don’t hike/workout regularly, and we found the hike doable.

Level: moderate to hard 

Distance: 9.5 miles out and back 

2,500 feet elevation gain 

We started BRIGHT and EARLY! I will get into the reason we started so early later, but I think you will probably want to end up doing the same thing to save some money. Don’t be fooled by the weather app, it will be freezing in the morning, bring something warm but light enough for you to take off and carry later because trust me you will break a sweat. The first third to half of the hike is all within the tree line. All uphill, but all surrounded by beautiful trees, some small little rivers, and there were about two little bridges you have to cross over. We saw quite a few animals, mainly squirrels and chipmunks, but there is always the chance of bears as well (which we did not come across). I would say this is the most mild part of the hike, you have some switchbacks as you make your way up, but this is a pretty ~gentle~ uphill compared to what is to come. At one point the tree line is going to start to change to more spruce trees, this is when the views are going to start and you will have your camera out non stop! 

As soon as you can see the skyline, you will have views for the rest of the hike, which to be honest you are so obsessed with the views it distracts you from all the stairs and steep uphill hike you are about to do. Now do not feel bad if you need to take a couple breaks once you reach this point. Just sit down, have a snack and take a look at the Rocky Mountain National Park skyline. The hike starts to get difficult when you see the stairs and the rocky path. This is straight uphill and doesn’t really level out until you get to the top. You know you are at the top of this section when you see somewhat of an outhouse on the far left of the peak (however, not an active bathroom you can use, lol we did try). 

Once you reach this point you might be confused on where to go next, because we definitely were and so was everyone else that was standing up there. You will see the beautiful views of the mountain beyond on your left, a small little lake straight downhill ahead (not Chasm Lake), and then to your right is the path you will take. Now if you are scared of heights, this section of the hike gets a little narrow with a bit of a drop off. Just go slow and walk one at a time and all will be okay! Make sure to look ahead and be in awe of the mountains, cliffs, and peaks. 

The path will start to flatten out and you will see a cute little wooden sign with Chasm Lake on it and an arrow pointing up. Now you may be thinking, is that arrow pointing towards all of those rocks ahead? Yes, that arrow is in fact pointing up the cliff of rocks, and to get to the end of the hike, you have to climb up it. One thing I wish we brought were hiking poles, I think they would have helped us dramatically going up this section as most other people had them. If you are scared of heights this will probably be the worst part of the hike for you, make sure to look straight ahead and focus on each rock in front of you. Make sure to use your hands to keep your balance and follow everyone else and see how the path they take looks. There is not a right or a wrong way to go up this section, just make sure to go about it in a way that is easiest to you. I forgot to pack my hiking boots, so I did this whole hike in Hokas if that says anything. Now would I recommend doing that? Absolutely not lol, I would recommend having hiking boots/ some sort of shoe that has a decent grip on it to make this section of the hike so much easier. 

Congrats you made it to the top of this rocky climb! Just another five minutes and you have reached Chasm Lake! When I say seeing this view will make you say everything you just did was absolutely worth it, I mean it. All of the pain and stress of the hike completely went out the window and all I could think about is how I would do the hike 100 more times if it meant getting this view at the end. The water is this aqua blue, and the backdrop of the gray rocky mountains and cliffs beyond leaves you not knowing where to look. Take a seat on one of the many large rocks and just take it all in because you did it! Make sure to take your time to rest and to take everything in, because everything you just did, you are going to have to do downhill, which makes the second half of the hike go by much quicker. 

Do you need a Permit? 

• Remember how I mentioned earlier about starting Chasm Lake hike early? Let’s talk about it a little bit more, especially if you want to save some money. If you are planning to go anywhere in Rocky Mountain National Park between May 24th to mid October, you will need a timed entry permit and a park pass or entrance fee depending on the time you get there. No matter what time you make it into the park you are going to need a park pass which you can buy online here and save on your phone in apple wallets. There are a few different options of passes you can get, but since we were only there for a day we bought the standard pass which was around $30 if I remember correctly. I will say we never had to show this to anyone but it may be because of the time we got to the park as well. 
• If you want to get to the park anytime between 9am – 2pm then you will have to also pay for a timed entry permit. These are released on the first of every month at 8am and it is a first come first serve kind of thing. However, if you did not know this (like us) or missed out on getting one, you can bypass the timed entry permit by getting to Rocky Mountain National Park before 9am or after 2pm. Since Chasm Lake takes 9.5 miles out and back, I would suggest getting there before 9am instead of after 2pm because you might be hiking back to the car during sunset/ in the dark depending on your pace and time of year. 
• Since we decided to save some money and did not have the timed entry permit, I do not know a whole bunch about it, but this site goes into very descriptive detail if this is something you are interested in. I will say the pro of going with a timed entry permit is that you can leave and reenter the park at any point within the 9am – 2pm period without a problem. Whereas if you do not have this and got there before 9am, if you leave the park you cannot reenter until after 2pm. 
• One more thing to add is we did not have to pay for parking at the trailhead of Chasm Lake, which is also shared with Longs Peak (a much longer and more strenuous hike). 

What to bring? 

• The most important thing to bring is water! This is a long hike that is basically all uphill the first half and all downhill the second on your way back. You will get thirsty, so make sure to bring more water than you think you will need. 
• Good hiking boots! Some parts of the trail like I talked about earlier, are super rocky and can be a little slick without the right traction. Make sure to bring shoes with a decent grip and good ankle support. 
• Going somewhat hand in hand with the point above, I think anyone could benefit from hiking sticks. I would not say it is a necessity, but I highly encourage it, as it might make this hike much easier. 
• Lunch and snacks! You will want to take breaks at times and just take in your surroundings. There are perfect times to refuel and eat some snacks. We held off on eating our lunch until we reached Chasm Lake because we wanted to enjoy it with a view. 
• AllTrails: this app was a lifesaver for us at times. First off the address brought us straight to the trailhead where google maps doesn’t. We also downloaded the map to use when we did not have service, which was extremely helpful at the points where the trail can be a little bit confusing on which direction to go. I highly recommend doing this because it is almost impossible to get lost with it. Not only that but you can read more about the hike, if pets are allowed, and what other people who have done it before thought about it! 
• Of course you have to bring a camera because the entire hike was stunning and picturesque and you will want to cherish these views long after the hike is done.

I hope this post was in depth and gave you all of the information you needed to know to have a successful hike! If you were up in the air on if you should do this hike or not, I hope I convinced you because it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience that I would do again the next time I am out in the area. Good luck hiking and I hope you enjoy this hike as much as I did!