Shadow Mountain Lookout
Trailhead: East Shore
Distance: 5.4 mi
Elevation Change: 1,503'
The trail doesn't actually enter RMNP until you've been hiking for half a mile. The first mile and a quarter or so (both inside and outside the Park) skirts along the shore of Shadow Mountain Lake. At the Shadow Mountain Lookout trail junction, make a left turn. The trail goes along the top of a ridge for a while, then around to the east side of a knob. After contouring along a slope, the trail resumes climbing to the tower.