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Rocky Mountain National Park · Colorado

Glacier Gorge Basecamp & The Loch

A compact two-night basecamp trip from Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Camp at the single designated Glacier Gorge site on both nights, visit The Loch on a maintained-trail middle day, then retrace the maintained trail to the trailhead.

Glacier Gorge Trailhead to Glacier Gorge Trailhead via Glacier Gorge campsite and The Loch

Read the two nights The permit on Recreation.gov

The shape of it

One forested basecamp anchors a middle-day visit to The Loch.

Elevation profile of the approximately 10.5-mile Glacier Gorge basecamp route from Glacier Gorge Trailhead to the Glacier Gorge campsite, The Loch, back to the campsite, and out, with two permit-night markers at the repeated site Night 1 permit location at mile 3.289 Night 2 permit location at mile 7.173
The complete route derives from current COTREX Black Lake and The Loch featured-route geometry joined at their exact shared Loch-Mills junction. Both permit squares represent separate nights at the same designated site; they are representative trail points near the site, not tent coordinates or a campsite boundary.

  1. Middle-day destination · mile 5.231

    The Loch ≈10,200 ft The Loch is the high point and middle-day destination; it is not separate overnight permit inventory.
  1. Glacier Gorge Trailhead Exact catalog entry
  2. Glacier Gorge Night 1 · individual site
  3. The Loch Middle-day destination · no permit night
  4. Glacier Gorge Night 2 · same individual site
  5. Glacier Gorge Trailhead Exact catalog exit
Route length
≈10.5 miles
Total climbing
≈2,220 ft gain
High point
≈10,200 ft
permit option
Individual site · 1–7 people
This itinerary
2 nights / 3 trail days

Start and finish at Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Follow the Black Lake corridor past Mills and Jewel lakes to the Glacier Gorge designated site for Night 1, retrace to the Loch-Mills junction for a middle-day out-and-back to The Loch, return to the same site for Night 2, then hike out.

Follow the maintained Glacier Gorge and Black Lake trail corridor past Mills and Jewel lakes to the designated Glacier Gorge campsite. The National Park Service lists one individual site at 10,000 feet, across Glacier Creek from the trail, with no privy and treatable creek water.

For the middle day, retrace toward the Loch-Mills junction, climb the Loch Vale branch to The Loch, then reverse the same route to Glacier Gorge. The Loch is a trail destination, not a second provider campsite.

Camp at Glacier Gorge again for Night 2, then retrace to Glacier Gorge Trailhead. The route intentionally uses one reserved physical site on two consecutive permit dates and never implies a cross-country connection.

Night by night

One designated site on two consecutive dates

Glacier Gorge is both Night 1 and Night 2. The Loch is the middle-day trail destination, not another campsite selection.

  1. N1

    Glacier Gorge

    Individual wilderness campsite · advance reservation

    Enter from Glacier Gorge Trailhead, follow the Black Lake corridor past Mills and Jewel lakes, and use the single designated Glacier Gorge site for the first permit date.

    Over
    Mills and Jewel lakes
    Site listing elevation
    10,000 ft
    Water
    Treat Glacier Creek water

    On the ground. The National Park Service lists no privy; pack in and pack out an approved human-waste bag.

  2. N2

    Glacier Gorge

    Same individual wilderness campsite · consecutive reservation

    Retrace to the Loch-Mills junction, visit The Loch in Loch Vale, and return on maintained trail to the same Glacier Gorge site for the second permit date.

    Over
    The Loch
    Route high point
    ≈10,200 ft at The Loch
    Water
    Treat all backcountry water

    On the ground. The Loch is not separate overnight inventory in this trip; the second reservation remains Glacier Gorge.

The permit

How this repeated-site Glacier Gorge watch works

The watch requires the same active individual-site offer on two consecutive trip dates. It reports openings; it never books, buys, or holds a permit.

Two dates, one physical site
Glacier Gorge must be available for Night 1 and again for Night 2. One open date alone does not complete this fixed itinerary.
The Loch is not inventory
The Loch is the middle-day route destination. It does not replace either Glacier Gorge permit leg or add a third night.
Parties one through seven
This trip uses the current individual-site offer whose provider rules support parties of one through seven.
Annual opening
Current guidance opens advance reservations for the May-through-October camping season on March 1 at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time.
Pickup and access
The physical permit and vehicle dashtag must be picked up in person. Bear Lake Road access, entrance requirements, parking, and shuttle operations remain separate live checks.
Same-site stay limit
Current permit guidance allows no more than three consecutive nights in one campsite during June through September; this trip uses two.
Returned inventory
A canceled reservation may make its dates available again, but the authorities give no guaranteed return minute. Wild Chime never completes checkout.

Primary planning intent

Glacier Gorge basecamp answers.

The two-night reservation repeats one designated campsite; The Loch is a trail visit rather than another overnight selection.

Do I reserve a different campsite for Night 2?

No. This exact itinerary reserves the single Glacier Gorge designated campsite for both nights, on consecutive dates.

Glacier Gorge Wilderness Campsite

Is The Loch a permit campsite?

Not in this trip. Visit The Loch on maintained trail from the basecamp and return to the same reserved Glacier Gorge campsite.

Glacier Gorge Wilderness Campsite

What does the wilderness permit cover at the entrance?

The overnight wilderness permit serves as the timed-entry reservation, but it does not replace the park entrance pass or fee. Recheck Bear Lake Road instructions before arrival.

Exploring the Bear Lake Road Corridor

Hard-won

Nine things worth knowing first

The repeated campsite, Loch Vale branch, Bear Lake Road access, and live wilderness checks worth settling before departure.

Shape

This is a true basecamp plan

Both permit nights are Glacier Gorge. The middle day leaves most overnight gear at the designated site and retraces maintained trail to Loch Vale.

Night 1

Glacier Gorge is exact

Choose the active individual Glacier Gorge offer—not bivouac, stock, group, winter, or another Bear Lake campsite option.

Middle day

The Loch is a visit

The route branches at the Loch-Mills junction, reaches The Loch, then returns to the same campsite without an off-trail shortcut.

Night 2

Reserve the same site again

The second leg repeats Glacier Gorge on the next date. Availability on only one of the two dates is incomplete.

Distance

Shared trail keeps the full route compact

The state geometry measures about 10.5 miles for the complete route. The park separately lists the campsite as 3.8 miles from the trailhead and The Loch as 3 miles from the same trailhead; those approaches share most of their mileage.

Access

Expect an early parking decision

The park says the Glacier Gorge lot fills early and recommends Park & Ride plus the Bear Lake Shuttle when it operates.

Food

Bring the required canister

Current guidance requires a hard-sided, lockable bear-resistant food-storage canister and in-person inspection at pickup.

Waste

There is no privy

The site listing requires pack-in and pack-out human-waste bags; treat creek water and follow the current campsite instructions.

Before leaving

Recheck every live authority

Wild Chime does not monitor trails, snow, weather, closures, fire restrictions, Bear Lake Road access, parking, or shuttle service.

Questions

Glacier Gorge & Loch Vale, asked and answered

Which direction does this exact trip use?

It starts at Glacier Gorge Trailhead, camps at Glacier Gorge, visits The Loch, returns to Glacier Gorge for a second night, and exits at the same trailhead.

Do I reserve a Loch Vale campsite?

No. The Loch is a trail destination. Both reserved nights use the same Glacier Gorge individual-site offer on consecutive dates.

Can one open Glacier Gorge date complete the trip?

No. The watch requires Glacier Gorge inventory for Night 1 and the following date for Night 2.

Can similarly named Glacier Gorge offers substitute?

No. Bivouac, group, stock, winter, and other campsite offers have different rules or identities and do not satisfy these fixed legs.

Does the wilderness permit replace every access requirement?

No. Recheck current entrance, Bear Lake Road, parking, shuttle, and permit-pickup requirements with the park before travel.

Does an alert reserve the permit?

No. An alert only reports qualifying openings. Wild Chime never books, buys, holds, or completes checkout.

Keep the intent distinct

More trips in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Compare exact permit-night orders rather than substituting a nearby route or reversing the dates.

Exact-trip availability

Watch Glacier Gorge Basecamp & The Loch.

Start with this exact direction, overnight order, and the permit locations that fit the saved party. Wild Chime reports qualifying openings; it never books or holds them.

Create this trip’s watch

For this exact direction and two-night permit order.

Review the current permit on Recreation.gov