Loch & Mills Lake Junction

About

This is the fork about two miles up the Glacier Gorge trail where you have to choose. Mills Lake is to the left, The Loch is straight ahead, and Lake Haiyaha is to the right. Not a destination exactly, but a decision point, and a good one.

It's inside Rocky Mountain National Park, on the trail from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead on Bear Lake Road. In summer the free shuttle is the easy way to get there, since the lots fill early. You pass Alberta Falls at 0.8 miles and the North Longs Peak junction at 1.6, then reach Mills Junction around 2.1 miles. Left goes to Mills Lake, about 2.7 miles from the trailhead per the Park. Straight ahead on the Loch Vale Trail gets you to The Loch at about 3 miles. Right goes to Lake Haiyaha.

Here's my advice. Pick one. People stand at the sign trying to talk themselves into all three and end up wrecked. Mills Lake is the one for the big open view of the Keyboard of the Winds. The Loch is the one if you might push on toward Sky Pond another day. Take a photo of the trail map at the trailhead before you start. Pets aren't allowed on Park trails. Snow covers these trails from late October through early June, so bring traction. In summer you'll need a timed-entry reservation for the Bear Lake Road corridor; check nps.gov/romo first.