At a Glance
Difficulty
Hard
Distance (one-way)
4.9 miles
Elevation
10,621 ft
Elevation Gain
N/A
Trailhead
Glacier Gorge TH
Park Area
Glacier Gorge / Bear Lake Corridor
Side of Divide
East
Coordinates
40.2653°N, 105.6411°W
Glacier Gorge / Bear Lake Corridor

Black Lake

Upper Glacier Gorge; above Mills Lake

Black Lake, Glacier Gorge / Bear Lake Corridor, Rocky Mountain National Park — 10621 ft elevation

About Black Lake

Black Lake is an upper Glacier Gorge lake at 10,621 feet, reached from Glacier Gorge Trailhead by a hard 4.9-mile one-way hike. The route continues beyond Mills Lake into a higher, more enclosed part of the drainage.

This lake is a natural turning point for strong day hikers and a gateway for the more remote lakes above it. Blue, Green, Frozen, Shelf, and Solitude Lakes all sit in the broader upper Glacier Gorge country, where distance, elevation, and route-finding become more demanding.

NPS trail tables show Glacier Gorge as the starting point for Alberta Falls, Mills Lake, Black Lake, The Loch, Sky Pond, and Andrews Glacier, so lakes here often sit on routes that continue well beyond a single shoreline.

Route Map

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