DESTINATION North Inlet Trail to Lake Nanita and Nokoni 1 Photoset
2023-09-07 | |
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| Hiking | 22.50 Miles |
4,005 AEG |
| | Hiking | 22.50 Miles | | | |
| 4,005 ft AEG | | 27 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Logistics/Getting there:
Rocky Mountain National Park is located in north-central Colorado. The North Inlet Trailhead is accessible from the town of Grand Lake. This is the less popular and crowded side of the park (unlike the Estes Park side). To get there head Northwest from Denver on I70, turn north on SR40 in Granby followed by north on I-34 which will take you to Grand Lake. The Trailhead is on the north side of town down a short dirt road.
Trailhead:
The North Inlet Trailhead serves as the starting point for the hike to Lake Nanita and Lake Nokoni. It's situated near the western entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. There is no ranger station at the trailhead and parking is fairly limited. That said we had no issues finding a spot. We left a copy of our backcountry permit displayed in the van window and started our hike.
Navigation:
The trail is well-marked and well-maintained. There are signs for each campsite which are useful for monitoring your progress. The only area where the trail was slightly difficult to discern was just after Lake Nokoni. There are a lot of social trails in the area where people were finding the best spots to get a photo and it took a second to find the actual trail that continued up to Lake Nanita. Other than that Navigation was easy.
Weather:
Weather in the Rocky Mountains can be highly variable, even during the summer. It's essential to dress in layers, pack rain gear, and have warm clothing for nighttime. This was the case for this trail. The first part of the trail (most of the way to Cascade Falls) was all burn scar and was fully exposed. It was quite hot and sweaty, especially with all our backpacking gear. After ascending to our campsite (Pine Marten #2) it cooled down to a more comfortable level. After sunset, it got downright cold, and we curtailed our card game after dinner to take shelter in our tents. The morning of day two of the trip we woke to find frost on our backpacks so be prepared for that level of temperature swing.
Trail Conditions:
The North Inlet Trail to Lake Nanita and Lake Nokoni was well-maintained and in good condition. There were a few sections that were rocky (mostly side trails to waterfalls or campsites), but the vast majority were packed dirt or flat rock shelves. There were a couple of trees across the trail, but it wasn't a problem to go over, under, or around them. There was no technically difficult terrain.
Camping:
The hike to Lake Nanita and Lake Nokoni is at least an overnight backpacking adventure that usually takes about 2 days to complete. We were a bit ambitious doing it as an overnight, we met another group doing the same route over 3 days. The overnight was strenuous but nothing crazy. There are many campsites along the North Inlet Trail, and backcountry permits are required for them. Camping is fairly popular here and we saw several other backpackers. It appeared that all the sites were probably occupied. Rocky Mountain National Park requires the use of bear canisters and the park service does not have them for rent, so make sure you bring one with you.
General Comments and Musings:
This was our 3rd and last overnight backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. Initially, we were pretty disappointed because the burn scar was extensive, the scenery was bleak and desolate for several miles. Things started to improve as we approached Cascade Falls.
I got a laugh at this and other Denver-area bad Spanish translation landmark names. Cascade or more accurately; cascada is Spanish for waterfall (so Cascade Falls is; waterfall waterfall lol). The other one we got a kick out of was "Table Mesa" (literally table table), but I digress.
Some conifers in the vicinity of Cascade Falls survived the fire and provided some limited cover from the sun. The falls seemed to be a popular day hike destination and there were quite a few people there. This portion was probably very nice before the fire.
After the falls greenery became more regular and the trail followed the creek more closely. The combination of pine forest and slowly setting sun made this riparian area very picturesque and was probably the highlight of the hike. Several areas would have made decent swimming holes in the heat of summer.
Venturing on the trail continued to accumulate elevation and the burn scar returned in intermittent swaths. We contemplated a detour to War Dance Falls and Bench Lake but by the time we arrived at the falls it was getting late, we were pretty tired, and the route to the falls and lake was not clear. It appeared to be bushwhacking so we skipped this possible detour.
Our campsite: Pine Martin #2 was a rock shelf with a steep descent to the creek. There was convenient space for 2 tents up high on the shelf and one additional tent lower down with a good view of the river. This lower shelf was a bit sketchy (waking up in the middle of the night to use the facilities might result in a rude awakening) so we set up on the upper shelf.
The next morning the more energetic half of the group did an early morning sprint up to Lake Nokoni and Lake Nanita. Both lakes were pretty, but the lower lake Nokini was more picturesque with the mountain and glacier in the background with clear blue water. Lake Nanita was also pretty but was more exposed so there was no glacier left this time of year. There were trout everywhere in that lake but according to the signs, no fishing is allowed there. The creek lower down allows catch and release. After taking in the scenery for a bit we headed back down, collected our gear and the more tired hikers, and proceeded back out.
The grand lake area was something of a "hidden gem" of the park. Unlike the Estes Park side which is crowded with touristy areas and traffic, Grand Lake and the surrounding areas seem largely forgotten. If you want to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and don't want to deal with crowds and traffic, check out trails in this area. Sagebrush BBQ in town was really good (we hit it on the way in and out!)
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