RMNP: Hike to Andrew’s Glacier

If you are looking for a challenging hike with great reward, Andrew’s Glacier is a perfect choice. Along the way you will see Alberta Falls, hike along the gorgeous Andrew’s Creek, climb through a rock field and gaze upon the beautiful glacier stretching into the lake below. Located in Rocky Mountain National Park, Andrew’s Glacier sits at 11,390 ft (3,472 meters). This hike is considered strenuous and has an elevation gain of roughly 2,200 ft. The hike is an out and back hike and 10 miles roundtrip from Glacier Gorge parking lot. We always encourage families to get out and hike, but this is not one for small children or carrying children in backpack carriers. If families want to hike part of this trail, we believe hiking to the Loch is definitely achievable and worth every drop of sweat this hike will take. To watch our full hike to Andrew’s Glacier and Sky Pond check out our video below.

To get to the trailhead there are a couple options. The first is parking in the Glacier Gorge parking lot and follow signs for Alberta Falls and the Loch. If you park in Glacier Gorge you will begin your hike uphill. The other option (that we highly recommend) is to park in the Bear Lake parking lot and hiking less than half a mile to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. If hiking from Bear Lake, there is more parking space and you will begin your hike downhill. On your way back take the trail to the Glacier Gorge parking lot (which will be downhill at this point) and catch the free shuttle back to Bear Lake parking. This way you can warm up your legs going downhill and end your hike going downhill. The majority of the hike on the way to the glacier is uphill regardless, but it’s sometimes nice to start off a difficult hike going downhill.

Now for the hike! First you will follow signs for Alberta Falls. The falls are about 0.8 of a mile from the Glacier Gorge parking lot and 1 mile from the Bear Lake parking lot. For consistency purposes the mileage mentioned for the remainder of this post will be from the Glacier Gorge parking lot. Along the way the trail has many open faces with amazing views. The Aspens were changing colors for fall and we could not help but stop every few hundred yards to take pictures.

Once arriving at the falls, the hike continues along the Andrew’s Creek. Here you will encounter tall pines with areas of grassy openings. It looked like a scene out of Narnia it was so pretty. Eventually after 3.1 miles you will arrive at the Loch. The Loch is a large lake surrounded by pines and marshy areas. We saw many people fishing and paddle boarding on the lake. Stop to enjoy a snack before following signs pointing right to Sky Pond and Andrew’s Glacier. The walk around the Loch was quite leisurely. There are so many awesome spots to take pictures or hang out for a bit.

After passing the Loch you will continue along the stream. Eventually you will get to a sign on your left. If you continue straight you will head towards Sky Pond. The trail to Andrew’s Glacier is immediately after the log bridge to your right. It starts with climbing over a boulder with the river on your right. From here on out is where the majority of elevation is gained.

Around 0.8 of a mile from the Loch you will get to the Andrew’s Creek Backcountry campsite. It is a small, remote campsite that you need a back-country permit to camp at. Please note that no open fires are allowed, only camp stoves. At this point the trail gets a bit confusing. You will see multiple footpaths and trails surrounding the campsite. The path you need to take is the obvious path to the left a few feet BEFORE the campsite sign. You will not enter the campsite to get to the glacier.

This part of the hike was my favorite besides the glacier itself. There is an open field in a valley to the right and woods to your left. Gradually you will come about a rock field. As you climb the rock field following the cairns (little piles of rocks stacked on each other). There will be an epic view of the valley below and the mountains surrounding it.

From here follow the cairns for the remainder of the hike. They will lead you through the rock field safely. If you start to descend through the rock field, you are going the wrong way. Follow the most obvious path. The hike leads through a small stream with patches of brilliant green grass. Marmots barked their warning calls as we approached. This hike is such a mental game because there is no visual of the tarn or glacier from below. The last quarter mile or so is a straight scramble from flat-ish spot to flat-ish spot. Being nearly 4 months pregnant at the time the last part of the hike incredibly difficult. Thank goodness for those marmots. They kept us laughing as we made the trek through this brutal part of the trail.

Arriving at Andrew’s Glacier was something out of a movie for me. We climbed the last vertical section and WHAM the earth flattened out and the Andrew’s Glacier sat marvelously before us. I almost cried when I saw the glacier and striking blue-green lake below it. Even now it brings back feelings of great accomplishment.

We stayed for nearly an hour at the glacier eating lunch, taking pregnancy photos and hiking around to the glacier itself. The lake was icy cold. A nice refresher after sweating like crazy on our way up. For a while we had the entire spot to ourselves.

Once our bellies were full and our legs a bit rested, we headed back down. The rock field hiking downwards was a bit rough on our knees, but once again the marmots encouraged us along our way. We do recommend trekking poles if available. At that point we continued our hike to Sky Pond. It is 0.8 of a mile from the point at which the trail splits to take to Andrew’s Glacier. If you have time, we highly recommend the extra hiking. There is a waterfall and two lakes you will encounter. You can read more about the hike to Sky Pond here. If you decide to continue towards the parking lots, it’s 3.7 miles from the split to Glacier Gorge Parking lot. Add another half mile if you decide to hike back to Bear Lake parking lot. Again, we recommend going to Glacier Gorge and taking the free shuttle to Bear Lake if you are parked there. Happy Hiking!