Some areas are closed to overnight camping and the danger of avalanches frequently exists. Read up on winter weather conditions , and plan your trip carefully, checking with park rangers for the latest information on the areas in which you plan to travel. Moderate to deep snow fills most high valleys from December into May, and skiable spring snow covers much of the tundra. The snow is usually a dry powder through March, and many winter days are clear. As in summer hiking, Bear Lake is the point of departure for many winter trips, short or long.
Rangers are often on duty on weekends to provide assistance.
Snow pack and conditions are usually more favorable at this elevation and higher. Although summer trails sometimes offer the best route, valley bottoms and stream beds have more snow cover and can be negotiated with care. A leisurely one or two hour round trip to Nymph Lake involves a climb of several hundred feet. The summer trail from Bear Lake is the most common route. Emerald Lake, one mile beyond Dream, can be safely reached by traveling up the left side of the valley above Dream for several hundred yards, crossing to the right side of the valley through the trees in the flat area, then continuing west on the right side of the valley.