Tyndall Creek
- nps.gov
- Estes Park
About
Tyndall Creek is the water you hear all the way up the Emerald Lake trail. It comes off the Continental Divide, drops through Dream Lake and Emerald Lake, and keeps you company the whole climb from Bear Lake. Go for the sound as much as the view.
You reach Tyndall Creek from the Bear Lake Trailhead, on Bear Lake Road inside Rocky Mountain National Park. Follow the Emerald Lake trail and the creek shows up in pieces. It crosses under you on footbridges, runs beside you through the trees, and then feeds the two lakes everyone came for. Emerald Lake is under two miles one way from the trailhead per the park's trail list, and the last stretch is the steep part.
Here's my honest advice. Bear Lake Road is one of the busiest corners of the Park, so go early or take the free shuttle from the Park & Ride, because the lots fill. In summer you'll need a timed-entry reservation, so check the NPS site before you drive up. Late October through early June the trail is usually snow-covered, so bring traction and waterproof boots. Dogs aren't allowed on any Park trail, so leave yours at home. And stay on the trail. That creek bank is more fragile than it looks, and a hundred boots a day add up.
