Such a stunning area as always. We camped one night at Lake Eleanor and day hiked to Grand Park. The mosquitos were quite bad on the hike up to Lake Eleanor. They were not too bad at the lake only because on the day we were there, there was a good breeze once you got to the lake. Any time the breeze died down, the mosquitoes were bad. So be prepared if you have a permit to camp there!
Prior trip reports had said they did not encounter bugs once you got up to Grand Park, but we actually found the mosquitoes to be pretty bad at the start of Grand Park. We were up there in the early evening so perhaps they are currently less bad during the day.
Other than the mosquitoes, the Lake Eleanor camp, as always, is lovely. The bear pole and pit toilet are in good shape. We were the only folks there on a Saturday night, which I found surprising for summer; I guess there were other permits available that no one picked up. We also had no trouble finding parking near the trailhead even though we arrived mid-day on a Saturday.
Wildflowers are just starting to bloom; there are lots of avalanche lilies but most of the other flowers, especially in Grand Park, are maybe only 5% open. I imagine in a couple of weeks the wildflowers will be in full bloom.
We did not go far into Grand Park as we had kiddos with us who were tired, but we chatted with a hiker who said they saw a bear at the far end of Grand Park.
The trail is snow-free. There are a few muddy patches but we were fine hiking in sneakers and stepping carefully. The road has some sections with BIG potholes and some new rockfall but low clearance vehicles can make it, just need to go slower.
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