Gem Lake EarthCache
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Rocky Mountain National Park is located west of Estes Park and north and east of Grand Lake. This is a fee area of the National Park Service, and costs $30 per vehicle. This fee is covered in the Rocky Mountain National Park Annual Pass, the Rocky Mountain National Park/Arapaho National Recreation Area Annual Pass, and the America the Beautiful Pass. Please see the following website (visit link) for the entire fee schedule. The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Road and Trail Conditions and Closures can be found at: (visit link) Recorded information for the condition of Trail Ridge Road can be found by calling (970) 586-1222. Please remember that all geologic features within the borders of Rocky Mountain National Park are protected by law, as are all natural and historic features. Please do not disturb, damage, or remove any rocks, plants, or animals.
Parking is at the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead at N 40 23.783 W 105 30.780, and the hike is up a well-marked trail. Prepare for a moderate hike. Your one-way journey will be about 1.8 miles with an elevational change of around 1,000’. The starting elevation is approximately 7,900’, so bring sunscreen for the bright sun and extra water for the dry air. Afternoon thunderstorms are always possible in the summer months so plan accordingly.
Gem Lake is an example of a pothole pond, a pond residing in the depression formed by the weathering of the underlying bedrock into a shallow bowl shape. The bedrock is granite of the Longs Peak-St. Vrain Batholith, and is on the order of 1.4 billion years old. The weathering of this granite through exfoliation is responsible for the many domes in the Lumpy Ridge area.
Gem Lake is exceptional for its size. Most potholes in the area are much smaller, with some being just a few feet across. Precipitation enters the pond through rain, snow, and direct runoff. There is no inlet or outlet stream.
To log this EarthCache, complete the following:
1.) Estimate (or measure with your GPS receiver) the length and width of Gem Lake.
2.) Measure the length of the “beach” on the northwest side of Gem Lake.
Please consider posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, when you log this EarthCache. Photos can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but posting them is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.
The above information was compiled from the following sources:
2004. Rocky Mountain National Park. In Harris, A.G. et al., editors. Geology of National Parks, Sixth Ed. P. 337-356. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Cole, J.C., and Braddock, W.A. 2009. Geologic map of the Estes Park 30’ x 60’ quadrangle, north-central Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3039, 1 sheet, scale 1:100,000, 1 pamphlet, 56 p.
Hopkins, R.L., and Hopkins, L.B. 2004. Hiking Colorado’s Geology. Seattle, Washington: The Mountaineers. 240 p.
KellererLynn, K. 2004. Rocky Mountain National Park. Geologic Resource Evaluation Report. NPS D307, September 2004. Online at: (visit link)
Rocky Mountain National Park. Online at: (visit link)
Rocky Mountain National Park was most helpful in the background discussion, aid in the choosing of sites, and review of this EarthCache. My thanks to the Park for allowing the placement of this EarthCache!
Additional Hints
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