Lake Haiyaha is a beautiful alpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, but lacks the crowds of nearby Dream and Emerald lakes. In the winter, Lake Haiyaha has some of the most unique ice formations in the park. Lake Haiyaha also has good fishing spots and just above the lake there are some great bouldering opportunities too.
Begin the hike at the Bear Lake trailhead, this will be the same for any season you chose to hike to the lake. From the Bear Lake trailhead follow the Dream Lake trail for ~1.05 miles to just before Dream Lake itself. The trail is very easy to follow up to this point in all seasons. In winter the trail stays very packed down expect for right after a large storm. If you are not hiking early, expect lots of company and oftentimes a crowded parking lot.
In the summer the trail is easy to follow from the Dream Lake-Lake Haiyaha split. There is a sign just before Dream Lake that points to the trail as it enters the forest and switchbacks up the mountainside for several tenths of a mile before it levels off. As it levels off there are great views from overlooks to the east and of glacier gorge.
In the winter the trail is much more difficult to find and a map/gps can be very important. The winter trail enters the forest before the summer trail and often the only clue to its existence is a few footprints/ski tracks enetering the forest. Once in the forest it traverses across te mountainside until gaining the summer trail just before it levels off. In the winter, caution must also be used as it traverses several steep slopes that may be narrow and a fall could result in a pretty bad day....
Once you reach the overlooks area, the trail will descend into the forest and towards the lake. In the summer the trail crosses the creek on several well-made bridges and you will access the lake from the south end. In the summer the trail is always easy to follow and allows for a little rock scrambling at the end. In the winter the trail stays to the north of the creek (it never crosses it but does go down to its bank) and you arrive on the east shore of the lake.
At the lake there are many large boulders that make a great location to take it all in. The shoreline can be a bit rough but with care it is possible to walk around the entire lake.