Mills Lake

Our original plan was to hike to Lake Haiyaha, one of many beautiful alpine lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park that we had yet to see. We made it to Alberta Falls before feeling a few sporadic raindrops. Hoping the rain would hold off, we continued the trek uphill. When we arrived at the main junction we had to choose: go right and hike another two miles to Haiyaha, or go left to reach Mills lake in under a mile. We ended up choosing the shorter route due to the unpredictable weather.

Mills Lake was by no means a consolation prize. Nestled below jagged mountains the lake was dotted with large flat rocks jetting out towards the middle of the water. And the dark, moody rain clouds only added to the dramatic backdrop.

We walked out to the end of one of the long rocks, where it felt like we were floating in the middle of the water. We sat and ate our lunch, taking in the view through a break in the clouds. A small gray bird had the same idea; it landed beside us and began eating remnants of another hiker’s snack. After taking a few photos, the weather took a sudden turn for the worse. The clouds opened up and rain came pouring down. We wanted to keep going up the trail – our map showed another lake just beyond Mills. But we didn’t want to risk being exposed in the storm, so we turned around and headed back.

Although hiking to Mills Lake wasn’t initial destination, it was an amazing surprise that quickly became one of our favorite spots in Rocky Mountain National Park. We definitely plan on heading back to spend more time at Mills Lake, and to finally complete the hike to its neighbor, Jewel Lake.