Got inspired to visit Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado after seeing these wildlife and nature photos? Since there are so many trails (350 miles in total!) and stops to make in this giant piece of wilderness it might be difficult to start creating your own adventure. What to see and what to do?! It just feels like something wild is happening everywhere over there! At that’s true.
The itinerary below is what I would recommend to anyone planning a visit. But only if you’re visiting the area from the beginning of spring till autumn.
I saw it all along the way: moose, elks, mule deers, bighorn sheep (‘the big five’ of the RMNP), pikas, yellow-bellied marmots, several types of squirrels and a coyote. Heck, I even saw a black bear! If you’re mainly here for the wildlife spotting, especially pay attention to the evening ‘programme’ as around sunset you’ll be more likely see those black bears lumbering across a meadow, elks munching in the grass, deers roaming between the wildflowers and coyotes running during their high-paced hunts.
Where ever you go and whatever you see, I hope you’ll connect to nature and be ‘wowed’ as often as I was during my stay!
Day 1
7:30 am – Driving the Highway 119 into the park
There are several ways to enter RMNP. I tried out two of them on the eastern side as seen from Boulder: highway 36 and the 119. The latter one is the most beautiful – by far. From Boulder it takes you through a canyon all the way up to the reservoir from Nederland.
This picture below is a fun one for everyone from The Netherlands :), yes they have Nederland in Colorado too! ↓
The rest of the ride is just a gorgeous 1,5 hour drive through the aspen forests of the Indian Peaks Wilderness. A great way to get used to heaps of fresh air and the sight of greenery.
9 am – Wild Basin Trails
Wild Basin is basically the first trailhead upon arrival in the park from the east and a fun one too if you’re into the calming sound of waterfalls – there’s loads of them in here! You can hike an entire day in the area – as everywhere in RMNP basically – if you like.
I hiked myself for two hours in here – all the way to Ouzel Falls and back via the other side of the river. Within this short amount of time I also saw the Copeland Falls (both upper and lower) and the Calypso Cascades. Especially along the last bit of the trail (from Ouzel Falls to the other side of the river) I barely ran in to other people – always a pleasure!
Wild Basin also makes for a neat place to fish. At least, that is my guess as I saw quite some anglers along the way! ↓
11 am – Exploring Estes Park + The Shining hotel
After you hit the trail, you have to follow the 7 all the way to Estes Park, along Lily Lake. I’d personally drive the Mary Lake Road at the very end, rather than that last bit of the 7, just because it gives a nice overview of Estes Park as you enter it.
Estes Park is confusingly enough a village! Just so you know 🙂
I personally always love those National Park villages, even though they’re all pretty touristy. Estes Park is no exception on the rule. But as you might get hangry at this point after all of the driving and hiking, why not stop make use of the plethora of restaurants and stop in here for lunch?
Also, did you know that Stephen King’s visit to The Stanley Hotel inspired The Shining? King and his wife stayed the night in room 217 and The Stanley’s mysterious ambiance triggered King’s mind in creating The Overlook Hotel, which is the setting of his 1977 best-selling novel.
I thought that was pretty cool. You can nowadays even book a room on booking.com (more or less $200,- USD a night) though. That steals a bit of the air of mystery, but oh well…
Here’s where you’d stay in that case ↓
2 pm – Sheep Lakes
From The Stanley Hotel drive the 34 all the way to the entrance of the park. Stop for information, if needed, at the Fall River Visitor Center and ask about the conditions of the Old Valley River Road (more about that later).
Next, make sure to stop at the Sheep Lakes pullout. It’s rather common to see quite some wildlife at this spot. All you have to do is wait. I encountered a lot of bighorns myself in here. They were basically jumped into the my vision field out of the bushes – so awesome! ↓
3 pm – Trail Ridge Road
If you’ve only got one day or aren’t in the mood for hiking, yet you would like to get a superb glimpse of Rocky Mountain National Park, you just háve to drive the Trail Ridge Road. I personally saw it as a great way of getting an overview of the park on my first day in RMNP.
The Trail Ridge Road is dubbed as the “highway to the sky” – for a reason obviously. This highest continuous paved road in the USA brings you from the lush, aspen valleys all the way up to the alpine tundra. At its highest point, the Trail Ridge road reaches 12.183 ft / 3.7 km. Pretty insane right?
I’d recommend you to drive the road at the end of the day. Not only will there be far fewer people (excellent in terms of parking spots), you might encounter more animals because of that too and the last rays will provide some superb golden glows on the surrounding forests.
There are a couple of pullouts – of which many are high above the tree line – that give you a splendid panorama of the Rocky Mountain valleys. Interested in what you’d see? Read this detailed article about the many pullouts and things to do on the Trail Ridge Road! ↓
Old Fall River Road
If you’re visiting the area during the summer months, you’re in luck. In case it hasn’t rained too much, you’re able to drive the Old Fall River Road. This way you don’t have to drive the Trail Ridge road twice, although that wouldn’t be a punishment. The zigzagging and unpaved Old Fall River Road was used before the paved Trail Ridge Road was built. And while driving this dusty way, it feels as if you’ve stepped back into time.
Make sure you feel comfortable enough to cross this one-way road. It leads you along cliffs and it’s impossible to turn around unfortunately. So a bit of experience with driving in the mountains would be valuable.
Also check if it’s gonna rain. The weather in this area can change incredibly easily. There’s a visitors center at nearby Aspenglen where the rangers will be helpful to answer your questions.↓
7 pm – Sunset at Beaver Meadows / Moraine Park
At the end of the day make sure you are near one of the valleys. When the last rays occur they paint the meadows in those soft orange-golden colours. Just wait and see: one by one the deers, elks and bears just pop out.
Wait patiently and soak up the last warm bits of sunshine before you feel the bitter cold of the night creeping up. Yes it does get cold in here at night, even in summer!
8 pm – Campground
Throughout your stay I’d recommend you to reserve a spot at Moraine Park Campground. I thought this camping was the prettiest one, providing lots of space and many backcountry campsites. In the morning you’ll have a gorgeous rosy sunrise on the mountains in the south too. ↓
From Moraine Campground it’s easy to reach any part on the eastern side of the park and it’s possible to reserve a spot in advance too – which is really necessary during the summer days unfortunately.
Just one more tip: don’t forget to turn your eyes towards the skies at night. Especially on cloudless evenings you’ll be starstruck for sure. Preferably with a cup of warm cocoa in your hand :)!
Day 2
7 am – Bear Lake Trailhead
Tucked into the spruce and fir forests at the base of Flattop Mountain, and surrounded by a couple of peaks and glaciers, the hiking trails around Bear Lake Trailhead are splendid. I did all of these trails – a nice loop around the area – below in somewhat 5 hours.
- Bear Lake
I’d suggest you to start in here in the very early morning, especially throughout those peak summer days. The area is popular and the parking lot can fill up quickly.
Don’t worry about sharing the trails though, most of the time it still feels as if you’re hiking all alone in the woods. Bear Lake is just a few yards away from the beginning of the trail, and its morning mirror views are absolutely stunning.
- Trail to Emerald Lake, via Nymph Lake and Dream Lake (1.8 miles / 2.9 km)
This part of the trail is gorgeous and though it goes up constantly, you’ll be rewarded with the sight of so many lookouts and alpine lakes in between. If you only have a couple of hours to hike, I’d recommend you to do this trail. At the end of it you have a good view on Flattop Mountain!
- Trail to Lake Haiyaha (1.1 miles / 1.8 km)
From Dream Lake it takes a steep hike up onto Lake Haiyaha. As soon as you leave the previous trail, you’ll have the forest pretty much to yourself. I promise. So don’t forget to have your bear bells ready, especially if you’re hiking on your own!
- Trail to Mills Lake and Jewel Lake
The alpine lakes at the base of the Glacier Gorge are only 0.6 miles / 1 km away from the crossing with Haihaya on the one hand and the trail via the Alberta Falls towards the beginning of the trailhead near Bear Lake on the other. So though it’s a little detour and slightly up, I really thought it was worth it.
If I’d go back I’d also hike towards the nearby Loch, which is also only a short hike from the crosspoint (0.9 miles / 1.4 km).
- Trail back along the Alberta Falls towards the beginning of the Bear Lake Trailhead
Time to head back! Luckily this trail towards the beginning of the loop mainly heads downwards. Which is quite lovely at the end of this heavy morning!
Brace yourself for a lot of cheeky squirrels and chipmunks along the way.
2 pm – Sprague Lake
Time to fuel up. After the Bear Lake area it’s a short drive to Sprague Lake. I personally came here because of the name (I just love Prague), but figured out this lake also has a perfect picnic area. If you’ve got some time left, make sure to walk around the lake (also a splendid location for anglers).
I came back around sunset in here and that happened to be a wise decision as there were some moose in the area during golden hour!
4 pm – Fern Lake Trail
Do you’ve got some strength left? Even if you do I doubt it’ll be a lot. Nevertheless, if you still want to sniff a liiiittle more of that fresh rocky mountain fragrance, I’d suggest you to go either the Fern Lake Trailhead or Cub Lake Trailhead. Either one is a neat flat trail through the Moraine Valley. Easy yet effective, as you might run into quite some animals in here at the end of the day!
7 pm – Sunset at Moraine Park
I hope you have a bit of luck at the end of your 2nd day when it comes to wildlife spotting! Enjoy your adventures in RMNP and keep it wild!
Meg
October 28, 2019 at 7:07 pm
Old Valley River Road… Where did you pull that me from? It’s either Fall River Road or Old Fall River Road… Check your facts…