Lena Lakes

I rated this hike a 5 on the strenuous scale due to the face that we usually go on past upper Lena and, over the course of a few days, we make the loop coming over St. Peter's Gate (thats what we call it, anyway) into Lake of the Angels. I must say that I love this hike. I rated it it a 5 on the greatness scale because it's simply a great hike. I actually take the guys in my youth group on this hike once a year. It's a real eye-opener for most of them.

I must say I wasn't quite prepared for the steep hike, but I was prepared to see absolute beauty and this is where you will find it, very worth the hike, peaceful, must go again! Enjoy :)

Me and two of my friends made our way to upper lena lake in late june 07. The hike from the car to lower lena lake was quite easy, however the hike to the upper lake was kind of hard. It didnt help that there were like 20 or 30 fallen trees blocking the trail. there were a handfull of places that were still covered in snow where we had to mark our path so we could find our way back later on. also there was a small glacier covering the river in one spot that we had to cross over. that sketched me out a bit. i didnt know if it was strong enough to support us and if it had caved in, we would have dropped like ten feet down into the covered freezing river. when we finally made it to the upper lake it was still frozen over. we didnt cross path with a single person the whole hike to upper lena or see any sign of people being there before us. it was a fun hike though and the camping was good at the lower lake. not too crowded.

We made it to the Lower Lena lake in May 2006.  The hike was pretty much non-stop switchbacks most of the way.  Some light snow cover as we got near the lake.  The lake was gorgeous, very deep blue, with a nice vista off the trail.  There are a bunch of campsites down near the water, all of which were packed when we got there (this was probably around 3:00 PM).  I was disappointed that I couldn't actually get close to the water without entering someone's campsite.  The vista was about as close as I got.

Labor Day weekend 2005. The trail starts off with non stop switchbacks to lower lena lake... but hke is still fairly easy at this point. At about 5 miles in you pass the National park border where the trail instantly starts to climb for the next two miles. I wouldnt call the hike strenuous, but the last two miles are a bit tough. Upper lena lake is gorgeous, there were no mosquitos at all; however, lots of bees this time of year. Fishing in upper lena is good, the cutthroat trout are some what small, but you wont have trouble keeping them off your hook. This weekend was somewhat crowded. Milk lake is only a half mile away and is very scenic and a glacier. I would recommend this hike... try not to go on Labor Day weekend.

Hiked to lower Lena evening of 4/22/05. Absolutely beautiful hike. Weather was amazing and Lake was gorgeous. Weird to see the mountains without snow. Spent the night, not too cold, humming birds and a grey jay in a.m...