A treasure in my backyard: Rocky Mountain National Park
Written: Dec 11 '08 (Updated Dec 14 '08)
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Pros: Beautiful scenery and wildlife, great hiking and camping
Cons: crowds (always a problems at national parks); bark beetle damage
The Bottom Line: Colorado's treasure - enjoy the scenic rugged beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
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| pilarzmom's Full Review: Rocky Mountain National Park |
One reason I really looked forward to living in Colorado was our new home's proximity to Rocky Mountain National Park. It's just an hour away from where I live in Denver's northern suburbs, making it a quick and easy, not to mention, affordable getaway!
The lowdown on Rocky Mountain National Park
The Park is just northwest of Denver, straddling the Continental Divide, and encompasses over a quarter million acres. Most people access the park from the east side through the town of Estes Park which sits just outside the park entrance on Hwy. 34 (or Trail Ridge Road, as it is known in the park itself). Without a doubt, the east side is the more heavily utilized side of the park, as well. However, if you're driving from the Western states, you may want to consider using the town of Grand Lake, just outside the west entrance, as your home base for your visit to the park, as it's still within an hour's drive of the main visitors destinations. It has plenty of vacation rentals, with the advantage of being less overrun with tourists. We spent a few hours there and loved its little shopping district that also has a lot of cozy little restaurants, some with views of the lake.
But Estes Park is still very charming, crowded or not. It, of course, has the usual chain motels, but for something different, you might want to stay in the historic Stanley Hotel, built in 1907, and made famous by the Stephen King movie, "The Shining." For folks like fellow reviewer Adrienne, they even offer ghost tours. We opted to stay along the scenic Fall River in a condo during our fall trip. We noticed quite a few similar accommodations in this area just west of downtown. For our summer trip we opted for camping within the national park (more on that below). We found Estes Park to be very convenient to the park and it also has lots of interesting places to eat, including more ice cream shops than we could count!
Park activities
So why do people come to Rocky Mountain National Park? While many people love to hike here, as the park has many pristine alpine lakes (150 of them) and 359 miles of trails, my best guess is the primary draw is to view the spectacular mountains. At the center of it all is the majestic Long's Peak, at 14,259 feet. These mountains are easily viewed from the famous Trail Ridge Road, which reaches its highest point at 12,183 feet. Of course, some athletic types will opt to see the mountains up close, as Long's Peak is hikeable, or if you prefer, there are no shortage of rocky faces within the park for the climbers to tackle.
But let's not forget the elk! You'll probably see the huge elk statue in Estes Park if you pass through. You might even see them on the golf course. But seeing them in the wild is much more spectacular. The best time of the year to see them is the early fall during rutting (or mating) season. In fact, when most national parks are boarding up for the winter season, Rocky Mountain National Park is still experiencing a good deal of traffic due to this annual ritual.
When to visit
This leads me to the next point - when to visit! Well, officially the park is open year-around, but the main road through the park is closed once the snows hit (typically early October). It reopens in May. But some hardy souls opt for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and even camping at a few of the rustic campgrounds. Trail Ridge Road reopens Memorial Day Weekend at the end of May, so after that is when most visitors typically come. Summer camping season runs through late August, when the temperatures are in the 70's and 80's. But be forewarned - it will seem a lot hotter due to the searing sun at the high elevation. Pack the sunscreen and always bring plenty of water for trips in the park. Also be prepared for afternoon thunderstorms!
Highlights of our visits to the park
Fall visit in October
When we moved to Colorado, our Realtor suggested we take a visit to the park to check out the elk during rutting season. So we planned a getaway for early October. The weather on that Saturday was cool, clear, and sunny. We first checked with the ranger at the entrance about where and when to see the elk. He advised us that the best viewing spots were around Beaver Meadows and adjacent to Bear Lake Road, typically in the late afternoon. So we decided to head up Fall River Road first, in order to get back by afternoon.
The road itself was windy and steep in parts, but it's not scary like Pikes Peak. There are many turn outs and places to get pictures of the mountains and the valley. Sadly, we had missed the peak of the fall colors, as the trees had already been stripped bare thanks to strong winds that had whipped through the week before. But the scenery was still spectacular and we enjoyed the view of Long's Peak, which looked much more impressive here than it did from our home in Colorado.
We continued on up to the Alpine Visitors Center at 11,796 feet. By now the temperature was downright cold, aided by strong winds. At this time of the year the visitors center was closed, but my husband felt compelled to hike up the trail behind it to get some more pictures. Feeling a little chilled and need of something to warm us up, we decided to continue on over to Grand Lake, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and did a little shopping.
By the time we headed back in early afternoon, clouds were gathering in the sky and we caught a few flurries as we headed back up over the mountain. However, a few flurries didn't stop us from stopping and catching our first glimpse of elk who caused a minor traffic jam as they crossed the road. But the gathering storm had us a bit concerned so we continued on our way, stopping only for a picture by the signpost at the Continental Divide.
When we arrived back in the Beaver Meadow area we were able to witness the Bull elk rutting ritual. During this time of year the males seek out female and demonstrate their desires by letting out loud bugling sounds. We also several of the males clash antlers as they fought for control of their female harems. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with swarms of tourists who try to get as close as possible to get the best pictures.
As it turns out, we made our fall visit just in time, since the next day Fall River Road was closed for the winter!
Summer Visit in July
We came back in the summer to do a bit of camping as well as some hiking. There are a couple campgrounds with reservable campsites. We chose to stay at Moraine Park Campground and found it to be very nice, with large, fairly private campsites, with lots of boulders that served as natural barriers. We were warmed about bears but didn't experience any issue. The only negative to this campground is that the restroom was quite a hike from our campsite, and didn't have any showers.
For hiking we chose to head up to the popular Bear Lake area. The parking here in the summer can be quite horrendous, but there is a shuttle that can transfer you back up to the trailhead if you park at a lower lot down the road. Bear Lake itself is less than a quarter mile from the road, but it's a wonderfully scenic alpine lake that is worthwhile for the non-hikers to go see. We decided for a bit more strenuous hike and headed up a couple miles to Emerald Lake. The trail to this lake was steep and rocky, and the summer heat felt at least 10 degree hotter thanks to the elevation. I was wishing I had more than my measly 16 ounce bottle of water. However, the lake was a beautiful pristine lake and we enjoyed being a bit off the beaten track away from the larger groups of tourists.
We also decided to head up Fall River Road once again. After the hot day of hiking, the cooler temperatures of the plus-10,000 elevations were a welcome relief, although we didn't welcome the heavier traffic. This time we took a bit more time to enjoy some of the sites we didn't get to enjoy, including the Alpine visitors center and a brief hike up to the highest spot along the road. We also got to see a group of male elk (during the summer they shun the females and juveniles, hanging out and putting on weight at the higher elevations.)
A note on the Bark Beetle tree damage
If you travel over to the west side of the park you will note the destruction caused by the Bark Beetle in the pine trees. This pest lays its eggs in the trees and cause them to slowly die. You can't help but notice all the dying trees on the west side. Sadly, the bark beetle infestion is moving east and we've noticed some trees on the east side starting to die. Unfortunately, this is not an easy pest to kill. The only hope is that the federal government will earmark more money to help control this infestion, but given the current budget woes, it may be tough. Nonetheless, the park is still worth a visit (perhaps sooner than later!)
Conclusion
Rocky Mountain National Park is quite a treasure and I feel very fortunate to live so near to it. I imagine my husband and I will be making many visits to it over the coming years. Even if you're not a hiker, this is one destination that you shouldn't miss if you're visiting Denver in the late spring, summer, or early fall months. It's about an hour and half to two hours away from most locations in Denver, and can easily be done as a day trip. 5 stars.
Park Entrance Fees: 7-day pass $20 per car; Pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and mopeds: $10 per person. Camping fees: $20 per campsite per night. You may also use your America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass.
Planning a hike in the park? Consider this dayhikers guide: Rocky Mountain National Park Dayhiker's Guide by Jerome Malitz.
This has been my entry to Coldsteel's Rediscover your Hometown W/O.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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