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 By Dawn Wilson owner DawnWilsonPhotography.com and Creeks and Critters Nature Tours (above photo: Sunrise at Sprague Lake. RMNP. Dawn Wilson) Mornings elude a calmness and beauty not revealed at other times of the day in Rocky Mountain National Park. The meadows may fill with drifting fog. The cool temperatures keep wildlife a little more active. And the sunlight bathes the east facing mountain peaks in pinks and purples. These five trails – from an easy flat trail for any skill level to an arduous trek into the backcountry – will be sure to evoke the serenity sought by those visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. Read through to the end for tips on planning and capturing sunrise images at any destination at sunrise. Sprague Lake Loop Trail One of the easiest yet most rewarding trails in the park, this flat, accessible path is only 0.75 miles long as it loops around Sprague Lake. With views of the peaks on the Continental Divide – Otis, Hallett and Flattop – that face east, picking a location on the east side of the lake will reward hikers with a pretty scene complete with an alpine lake, mountain vistas and verdant green mountainsides. The bonus at this lake is that the sunrise views are just as rewarding from the west side of the lake. Use some of the downed logs for leading lines in a photo or frame the image with a base of grasses showing early signs of fall as you enjoy the rising sun above the pine trees in the eastern sky. Moose, birds and mink frequent this location, making the destination a well-rounded experience of mountains, lake and wildlife in the cool morning air. This trail is located along the Bear Lake Corridor and requires a Timed Entry + reservation between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m.  Aptly named Dream Lake. RMNP. Dawn Wilson Dream Lake Trail This trail is one of the most popular in the park for good reason. The 1.1-mile trek to the lake introduces visitors to hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park while not being too overwhelming for inexperienced hikers or can be a perfect way to start the day before work. The trail offers stunning views, three lakes and wildflowers in summer. Starting at Bear Lake, the trail climbs about 500 feet from 9,475 feet to 9,905 feet on the eastern end of Dream Lake. Like the Sprague Lake Trail, this alpine destination includes views of Hallett Peak, Flattop Mountain and Otis Peak as well as Longs Peak and Keyboard of the Winds. All catch the morning light as the sun rises behind hikers in the eastern sky. Along the way to Dream Lake, hikers will enjoy views of Longs Peak – Rocky’s highest mountain at 14,259 feet – and see three of RMNP’s many lakes. To catch sunrise, however, head directly to Dream Lake first, and then enjoy the views of Longs Peak on the path down, stopping to enjoy the high mountain through the trees over Tyndall Creek, in the forest openings below Tyndall Creek, then above Nymph Lake and finally at Bear Lake. This trail is located along the Bear Lake Corridor and requires a Timed Entry + reservation between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m.  The Estes Valley seen from the Gem Lake Trail in RMNP. Dawn Wilson Gem Lake Trail Unlike the previous two hikes, the best location for sunrise along this trail is not at Gem Lake but along the trail looking out over Estes Valley and towards Longs Peak. The trail to Gem Lake is a 3.5-mile out and back trail that climbs nearly 1,100 feet and ends at the small pond tucked in the granite domes of Lumpy Ridge. Gem Lake has no inlet or outlet streams or creeks, collecting all of its water from snowmelt and rain. To enjoy sunrise from the rocky outcroppings of Lumpy Ridge, start at the Gem Lake Trailhead along Devils Gulch Road on the northeast side of the park. The trail splits at the beginning, with the Gem Lake Trail veering off to the right. About a mile up the trail that navigates through ponderosa forest and stands of aspen, venture to the south as the trees open up and reveal wide vistas of the valley below and the peaks of the Continental Divide. Longs Peak will catch the morning light as the town below starts to stir at the beginning of another day. Enjoy the unique rock formations along this moderate trail, including Das Boot, a large granite boulder that resembles a boot with a hole in the sole. Deer Mountain Trail Similar to the Gem Lake Trail, the 6.2-mile moderate, roundtrip trail up to the top of Deer Mountain offers beautiful scenery at sunrise along the trail. Reaching the summit of Deer Mountain, at an elevation of 10,006 also rewards early-morning hikers with wide-open scenes that enjoy morning light and the potential for dramatic skies above the Continental Divide at sunrise. The trail starts near the junction of Trail Ridge Road/U.S. Highway 34 and South Navy Hill Road/U.S. Highway 36, passing through ponderosa forest before reaching an older aspen grove about a mile into the hike. Here the views of the Continental Divide, Longs Peak and Upper Beaver Meadows are reward enough to even make this the morning destination. Sunlight will wrap the peaks in alpenglow across the valley. Visit in early summer to catch the vibrant spring greens on the aspen trees or come in late September to catch the same trees in golden hues of fall. The trail to the top of Deer Mountain is a steady climb for most of the hike and then levels out at 2.4 miles. This is not the summit, however, which requires another short climb before reaching the highest point in another half mile.  Chasm Meadows with Longs Peak on the left. Dawn Wilson Chasm Lake Trail Located just below the diamond of Longs Peak, Chasm Lake is a strenuous hike, especially for reaching the lake at sunrise. But the effort reaps the reward of standing below this iconic formation as morning light illuminates the granite in warm tones. Starting at the Longs Peak Trailhead south of Estes Park on Colorado Highway 7, the 8.5-mile roundtrip trail climbs more than 2,500 feet. This trek requires an early morning start of about three to four hours before sunrise, depending on your speed and ability to hike in high elevations, to reach the lake for the first light of the day. If that seems a bit too daunting, shooting for Chasm Meadows at 3.8 miles from the trailhead is another ideal option to enjoy sunrise, where the Diamond of Longs Peak rises above the high alpine meadow. There is also a stunning view of the cirque above Peacock Pool far below the narrow trail and Columbine Falls cascading into the lower lake before reaching Chasm Lake. The final stretch to Chasm Lake includes views of the east face of Longs Peak before reaching the final steep rock scramble up to the lake. Standing on the east edge of the lake rewards hikers with the towering view of the summit of Longs Peak 2,500 feet above the lake.  Frosty sunrise. North Inlet. RMNP. M. Selleck Capturing Sunrise Hiking into the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park for a sunrise experience requires some planning and good timing. If hoping to capture photographs of the experience, plan to arrive at the destination about 30 minutes before sunrise. This will allow you to scout for a location and set up camera gear to photograph the best light of sunrise, which happens about ten minutes before to ten minutes after daybreak. Use an app like Sun Surveyor to determine the time of sunrise and then check another app like Clear Outside or Windy for weather conditions during the hike and at sunrise. Ideally you want clear skies to the east and some clouds above the mountains for the most dramatic and colorful photos. For the best photographs, avoid blue sky days, which do not add a lot of interest to a sunrise image. For hikes like Chasm Lake that venture above tree line, plan to be below tree line on the way down before noon to avoid afternoon thunderstorms that can cause dangerous lighting for exposed hikers. Hiking through the park in the dark also requires good navigational skills and a headlamp with charged batteries. Plan on wearing layers of clothes as the day starts about 10-20 degrees cooler than the hike back to the trailhead. Bring a GPS navigational device to avoid getting lost in the dark, and always tell someone where you are going and when you will return in case a mishap does happen along the trail.
She has served as the president of the North American Nature Photography Association, was recognized as a Top Ten Female Nature Photographer to watch and is a member of Girls Who Click to help open the world of photography to aspiring young female photographers. To see more of her work and to inquire about tours, visit DawnWilsonPhotography.com or ccnaturetours.com.
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"The wild requires that we learn the terrain, nod to all the plants and animals and birds, ford the streams and cross the ridges, and tell a good story when we get back home." ~ Gary Snyder
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“Hiking -I don’t like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of the word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.” ~ John Muir 
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