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North Inlet Trail, Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park
By PK | August 11, 2008
What’s there to do on a rainy day? Hiking…don’t let the rain stop you from getting outdoors! There are extra precautions you need to be aware of, such as flash floods and lightening, but as neither of these were the case, we decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and check out some trails. This is a picture of us going over Rabbit Ear’s Pass after we left Steamboat. We left Steamboat about 6:30am.
From Steamboat we took Hwy 40 south past Kremmling, then Hwy 34 towards Grand Lake. To locate the trail, take 278 headed towards Grand Lake, then bear left onto a paved road. Look for the sign pointing towards Tonahutu and North Inlet Trailheads. We arrived at the trailhead at 8:30am.
North Inlet Trail is a maintained trail with a starting elevation of 8540′, and takes you to the Cascade Falls (3.4 miles, elevation 8840′), and then onto Nokoni Lake (9.3 miles, elevation 11,770′) Lake Nanita (10.3 miles). The trail continues to The Shark’s Tooth (12,829′), Taylor Peak (13,153′), and Lake Solitude (9720′).
The beginning of the North Inlet Trail leads you through private land. And though you’ll be tempted to explore this area, remember it is private land and subject to trespassing laws.
This beautiful pasture holds a special treat, an antique snow sled. You can’t get any closer as this is on private land.
So many hikers we observed weren’t paying attention to the wildlife in the area. What a loss!!! Dalton and I found this place steaming with an abundance of wildlife. Please, if you go hiking, slow down and look around. You’d be amazed at what you’ll see and could also save your live. Mountain lions and bears also frequent back-country areas.
This mule deer buck knew we were there, continued to graze while I took these pictures. I would imagine he felt a little uncomfortable, and as he turned to leave, kept his ears pinned on us, listening for any further approach. But, rest assured, we never left the trail.
The North Inlet Creek flows along parts of the trail, it’s beautiful pristine clearness is amazing. You can even see trout swimming along. About a mile or so into the hike, we seen Moose.
My greatest achievement…photographing a bull Moose!!!! Finally, the day has come. For all of those who keep up with my posts know that this is a moment I have been waiting for. I was so excited, a bull moose, a cow moose and a calf moose all together. What a treat!!! I actually fell trying to sneak closer for a look and some photos. Even bummed up, I managed to continue our hike and take more photos!
Isn’t he awesome?
All three in this one. They were hard to photograph being up in the heavily dense woods. The cow moose is in the background, the calf moose in the middle, with the bull moose in the foreground.
Can everyone say, “Ahhhh!”
Momma moose started to come down to check us out, her curiosity getting the better of her. We had to make noise so she would stop her descent.
The bull moose, though giving us looks, continued to forage.
The surrounding scenery was quite impressive with the fog and low-hanging clouds. It was rainy with a slight drizzle during half of our hike. We suited up in rain gear and continued on.
We caught this Mule deer doe munching on the greenery.
Now she’s checking us out, but never left her position. We’re in about 2 miles on the trail and into the Rocky Mountain National Park where she is protected. I think she knows that!!!
The trail narrows, becomes rocky and the ascent begins back to the Cascade Falls.
Another treat. We came across another Mule Deer doe and her fawn. They were only about 20 feet from us. How did we know the doe had a fawn? We watched the doe as she continually kept looking back. That meant she was looking for something….so we waited. And sure enough, there he is.
Me, still bundled up against the damp and cold. Later I donned my camo rain suit from Dick’s Sporting Goods that Dalton bought on our last trip to Longmont.
On all the creeks we crossed, wooden logs were laid to serve as bridges, some with railings for ease of crossing.
The trail narrows even further as we climbed higher in altitude towards the falls. You can see the rock cliff ahead on the left of the trail.
This trail is widely used by horses, but I can’t imagine taking a horse across this. It’s a ‘courtesy, please’ here. Watch for other hikers coming down, there’s hardly room for two abreast.
When hiking, I always stop and look around. It gives you a moment to catch your breath, only to lose it again at the breathtaking sights around you!
We saw quite a few other hikers on the trail even on a rainy day, but none stopped and looked about as we did. What a shame! They’ve missed so much!
The Cascade Falls were hard to photograph. There were many trees in our view, as you can see in this picture. When we eventually arrived at the top, to our dismay, many other hikers were hogging the area. With the drizzle from the rain and knowing the rocks were slippery, we decided not to attempt going around them for a better view.
Further up I took this great shot looking down towards the falls. We had a short picnic and continued on. At this point, we hiked somewhere between 3.5 and 3.8 miles. It’s about 12:30 pm now.
The trail runs along North Inlet Creek as it stumbles down toward the falls. Beautiful scenery here!!!
We hiked another hour to this small set of falls running through the rocks. The trail was beginning to deteriorate due to the rain and was becoming muddy and slippery in spots. We had already hiked 4.5 hours and knew we had to allow plenty of time to hike back before dark. The trail at this point starts to ascend again and is rocky and narrow.
I took this picture on our way back of the low clouds and fog…don’t know which it was. The rain had stopped, but the trees were still dripping. Later, the sun began to come out towards the end of our hike.
This doe was ahead of us on the trail. She was quite friendly and didn’t move very far off the trail when we passed.
And there she is when I passed her, only 10 feet from me.
I hope you enjoyed our latest adventure. There are many trails in and around Grand Lake, Colorado. I’m writing an article about all the trails available in this area full of information, but with fall and winter around the corner, won’t get to visit and highlight all of them this season.
There are camping sites along the way that are posted with signs. The junction for Summerland Park Camp Site is about 1.5 miles into the trail, Twinberry Camp Site junction is about 2.5 miles and both are before Cascade Falls. I don’t know how far down the those trails to the actual campsite as we didn’t explore that area.
Hiking in the wilderness can be a dangerous and unpredictable activity. Bloggingus.com can and will assume no liability for injuries associated with the use of information provided on this site. The trail data provided is to be used for informational purposes only and not intended to be the sole source of technical information you use. If you are unsure about your ability to hike a certain trail, it is recommended you contact your physician for a physical evaluation. It is ALWAYS recommended you talk with National Park Rangers or your local Forest Ranger before setting out on a trail.
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