Lake Helene in Rocky Mountain National Park
- Date hiked: 07/09/2020
- Hiked from: Bear Lake Trailhead
- Distance hiked: 6.5 Miles RT
- Total elevation gain: 1,340 ft
- Maintained trail: Yes – After 3.2 miles along the Odessa Lake Trail, turn left onto an unmarked trail to reach Lake Helene.
- Overall Difficulty: 5/10 – Moderate elevation gain.
- Overall Views: 6/10 – Bear Lake at the trailhead is a popular destination in Rocky Mountain National Park. Notchtop Mountain, Flattop Mountain, Knobtop Mountain and Ptarmigan Peak border Lake Helene, while Grace Falls can be seen to the right.
Video of us Arriving at Lake Helene
Lake Helene Elevation: 10,580′
When I estimate lake elevations I use several tools and don’t blindly copy and paste results from web pages. Every topographic map I’ve read puts this lake below 10,600′, although every web page says it’s about 100′ higher then that.
Lake Helene Hike from Bear Lake Trailhead
Take the Lake Helene trail which is unmarked. In the summer you will likely come across rocks with low flowing water. Follow the rocks to the lake. The lake sits below neighboring lake Two-Rivers Lake.
You also have the option to go to Grace Falls from Lake Helene trail. Be cautious though, even in early July there was a huge snowfield that needed to be crossed to reach the waterfall. Even though we had spikes and the appropriate gear we opted to turn around as we were pushing for many other destinations that day.
Other lakes that we accessed from the hike to Lake Helene were Two-Rivers Lake, Marigold Pond, Marigold Lake, Odessa Lake and Tourmaline Lake. A full description of our entire hike and route can be found here.