Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Amazing views, high elevations, and lots of wildlife!
We visited Rocky Mountain National Park on a road trip in August 2020. The weather was beautiful and due to the park's COVID-19 capacity restrictions, it was not busy. We used an app called All Trails which is free unless you choose to pay $30 a year to download the hiking maps. I highly recommend the paid version, we have used it a ton. In this post, I want to tell you some of the highlights and tips we have if you are traveling there, and show you the beautiful scenery!
Highlights:
Wildlife: Moose, quail, big horn sheep, rocky mountain elk, and lots of various birds
Notable hiking paths: Emerald Lake Trail, Sky Pond via Glacier Gorge Trail, Ute Trail from Poudre Lake to Alpine Ridge, Cache la Poudre River Trail
Tips:
Where to stay: We stayed in Winter Park using VRBO. It was cheap, and in a great location. However, next time we would not stay here. It was only half an hour from the park, however, to get to the great hiking spots and views, once within the park you had to spend another half an hour driving. So, it was a total of a 2-hour round trip anytime we wanted to be at the park. Instead, we would definitely stay in Estes or camp in the park itself.
What to bring: When hiking, layers are the best option. The top of the mountain has a chilly wind but there is nothing but sun. Bugs spray, sunscreen, and water are also a high priority and even though it may seem obvious, the heavy backpack might cause you to want to leave it behind.
Hiking: You'll want to get the most out of your stay by seeing the most, right? We recommend choosing two paths for the day with two different sceneries and difficulty levels. For example, we did Sky Pond and Cache la Poudre River on the same day. One had a crazy elevation change and the other was down in the valley. Pairing two opposite trails kept us exploring but also kept it manageable!
Elevation: If you are like us, the elevation change was significant. Too much for my body to get used to in one week. I dealt with elevation sickness, hard breathing, etc., especially with asthma. We way over-planned the hiking and eventually realized that going slow was just the better option. It is frustrating to not be able to do everything you had wanted but in the end, we had no regrets and even found a narrow road (closed during winter months) to drive and see the views instead of walking. Well worth it, even for being scared of heights!
Pictures:
I am obsessed with the views, it was so hard to narrow down which pictures to post! Here are some of my favorites:
Along a drive in RMNP, the sun was beginning to set in a partly cloudy sky.
The exact spot as previous, but with a different perspective.
A lake on top of the mountains. Look closely to see another lake even higher. These are glacial lakes with streams connecting them. There is another lake below the pictured ones. Absolutely stunning!
One of two moose on the side of the road. This is a zoomed lens and we stayed in the car. These beautiful animals are very dangerous.
A short hike to the top of a mountain near a visitor's center. Steps straight up! It looks short but that sharp elevation change takes a bit of your time. In the distance is a wildfire that started just outside of the park lines. Park rangers told us not to worry, but how can you not?
Ute trail starts from the visitor's center. Definitely a windy one! On the right side of the picture you can see the road in the valley. A beautiful drive or hike.
More views along the drive. If you don't like heights like me, this may be a good time to read that book you brought along, quite the drop off here.
Emerald Lake along Emerald Lake Trail. This may have been my favorite hike.
This is the road I mentioned earlier that drops off completely on the driver's side and is only open during the summer months. Terrifying for me but James loved this one!
Cache la Poudre River Trail, is easily another favorite. This was the last hike we did in the park but wish we had found it earlier. It is an easier trail at a lower elevation down in a valley.
Another view of Cache la Poudre River Trail. This photo is unedited, the colors are so vibrant in this valley.
This is still Cache la Poudre River Trail. The wildfire smoke began looming over the mountains as we got farther down the trail. Although we knew we were safe, we stopped here and turned around.
Some wild flowers are found in the valley along Cache de la Poudre River Trail.
Another beautiful view along the drive through RMNP.
Billowing wildfire smoke shown with a zoom lens.
On our last day at the park we left early in the morning. The smoke was so thick that the sun shone more like a bright orange moon. We were not advised to go, however breathing was thick in the smoke.
The once-clear mountains are now filled with haze. We were lucky that the now two or three wildfires had not started until the end of our trip.
I love the natural coloring of this sunset over the mountains. The unfortunate part was that we still had to hike back to our car. Not our best judgment call!
On our way out of RMNP, we ran into some big horned sheep strolling through town.
Ending with one of my favorite images. This is along the drive through RMNP. The open field was home to many elk and almost reminded me of a savanna. Beautiful scenery!
I hope you enjoyed the photographs and let us know if you have visited in the comments! What was your favorite part of your trip?
