Grand Lake, CO

We took our first trip to Grand Lake, Colorado in October of 2025. Oh did we fall in love! Grand Lake is Colorado’s largest natural lake. In the summer, it attracts typical lake activities - swimming, fishing, and kayaking. Winter brings conditions perfect for ice skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing. We were there in late fall, so we did lots of hiking.

Grand Lake is the perfect gateway to exploring Rocky Mountain National Park. In fact, it holds the Kawuneeche Entrance Station to the park. At this entrance, we explored riparian ecosystems, listened to elk bugle, and walked alongside the Colorado River. The BEST part of our entire trip was hiking the Emerald Lake trail… but I think that will be a blog for another day.

With its charming downtown and breathtaking natural surroundings, Grand Lake makes for a dream of a photo location! I photographed portraits for a local at the East Inlet Trail just 5 minutes from downtown. The silhouettes of the mountains in the background are stunning.

Back to that charming town feel… Lattes each morning from The Hub were a highlight for me as a coffee love . Then, a quick jaunt to Grandby for breakfast at Fitch Ranch was perfect for fueling for a long day on the trails. Sagebrush had tasty dinners that were especially satisfying after huffing it 8 hours up a mountain! We spend one late morning visiting the shops in Grand Lake. My souvenirs from our shop day were gold hoops and emerald earrings from Altitude - the best priced jewelry shop I think I have ever visited in a tourist town.

We cannot wait to return to Grand Lake! Whether it be for wedding / elopement photography or just there on a national park vacation!

-Maranda & Evan