Tag: Colorado National Parks

Rocky Mountain National Park is nestled in northern Colorado, just an hour and a half outside of Denver. With miles of scenic drives, countless alpine lakes, and mountains galore, you’re practically guaranteed gorgeous views and unforgettable days. With so much to see, an action-packed itinerary is all but guaranteed! Make sure you pack your sturdiest hiking boots and your favorite trail snacks because there’s so much adventuring to be done.

How much time do you need to explore? Depends on how much time you have! Since the park is relatively short drive from Denver, it’s totally possible to make a day-trip out of it. That being said, if you’re coming from out of town to really explore the park, we recommend at least three days. This will allow you to tackle a couple big hikes and traverse the different regions of the park.

Rocky Mountain is huge and does have a truly beautiful range of landscapes, so three days gives you enough time to explore all the different areas of the park and really appreciate the topography. Regardless of the time of year you visit, you are sure to be blown away and humbled by the magnitude of mother nature in this charming pocket of Colorado.

Getting into the Park: Timed Entry Permits

what is it?

From May 26th through October 22nd Rocky Mountain operates with a timed entry system, to better regulate visitors to the park. The purpose of the timed entry program, is not to limit the overall quantity of visitors into the park, but rather to help spread out everyone’s arrival throughout the day. Systems like this are in place at a handful of different parks to help diffuse traffic and crowding in high season. If you are visiting outside these dates, you won’t have to worry about any entry permits!

Rocky Mountain’s timed entry system has two options: either ‘Park Access’ or ‘Park Access +’. Bear Lake Road hosts a handful of rather popular hikes that increase the traffic to this area. If you are interested in visiting the Bear Lake Corridor, you will need to secure a Park Access Plus reservation, which will grant you access to everywhere in the park. If you’re not terribly keen on the hikes off Bear Lake road, the Park Access reservation will get you anywhere in the park, besides the Bear Lake Corridor.

The ‘Park Access’ permit is required for those arriving between 9am and 2pm. The ‘Park Access +’ pass is required for visitors accessing the park areas after 5am and before 6pm. If you plan to arrive outside of these hours, you will not need to worry about snagging an entry permit.

It’s worth noting, if you’re planning a multi-day trip to Rocky Mountain, you will need a Timed Entry ticket for every day you plan to be there.

how do i get it?

Both the Park Access and Park Access+ Timed Entry Permits are released on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can reserve your timed entry passes online here. The reservations become available according to the following schedule:

Planning a last minute trip and not seeing much available for entry times? Don’t fret! The parks system retains 40% of the available Park Access and Park Access+ timed entry permits to be released first-come, first-serve starting at 5 p.m. the night prior. For example, if I’m hoping to visit the park on June 5th, the remainder of the passes become available on June 4th at 5pm.

Camping

Rocky Mountain has five different campgrounds dispersed throughout the park, and they are POPULAR! There’s an online reservation system in place to help facilitate campsite booking, which is pretty user-friendly. Campsites open up 6 months in advance, and they go fast— especially for holiday weekends throughout the summer.

To help the last-minute-camper, they do a limited release for a handful of campsites, so there’s still hope you might be able to snag a campsite 2 weeks or 1 week out. We’ve also used the app Campflare before to help snag campsites people cancel. You set the campground, campsite type, and dates, and it will notify you immediately if something becomes available. Awesome resource!

Glacier Basin

Glacier Basin campground opens in late May and stays open until mid-September. If you’re planning to do lots of exploring and hiking in the Bear Lake area of the park, this campground will have you perfectly situated for all of your alpine lake and waterfall adventures. You can scope out availability as well as more information here.

Longs Peak

This campground has limited availability for use due to its higher elevation and increased snowfall. It typically opens mid-summer and closes in early fall (dates vary here more than the other campgrounds). You can check here to see if the campground is open yet. It’s worth noting, this is the only first come, first serve campground in the park (i.e. will not be available for online reservation).

If you’re keen to stay near the Long’s Peak trailhead but find the campground still closed, there’s other options! While staying in Estes Park wouldn’t be too lengthy of a drive, the Dao House is only 7 minutes away form the trailhead. This is super convenient if you’re looking to streamline an early morning hike. We stayed at the hostel-part of their lodge, in lieu of camping, but they have “normal” hotel rooms and cabins available as well. We really enjoyed it!

Moraine Park

The Moraine Park Campground is the only campground you’ll find open year-round. That’s right, if you feel like riskin’ it for the biscuit during the winter season, you’ll be able to bunk down in Moraine Park. You can find more information as well as availability here.

Timber Creek

Timber Creek Campground is the only campground on the west side of the park. It’s perfectly situated between the Alpine Visitor Center and Grand Lake, making it a nice spot to base out of for all your west-side exploring. Timber Creek opens in late May and closes up shop in late September. You can check out availability here.

Aspenglen

Just past the Fall River entrance to the park, the Aspenglen Campground opens in late May and hosts eager campers until late September. As you might imagine, this spot provides easy assess to the Fall River area trails. This campsite has the convenience of being close to Estes Park, on the more-popular east side of the park, while being a bit smaller and more secluded than Moraine Park and Glacier Basin. You can find campsite information and availability here.

We tent-camped on site A in the A Loop and loved the little slice of peace and calm (with amazing bathrooms nearby). Definitely recommend!

just so ya know

If you have a camping reservation for Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, or Timber Creek Campgrounds, you do not need an additional timed entry permit to enter the park. A timed entry permit is included with your campground reservation— you will be permitted in the park beginning at 1pm. The Aspenglen and Glacier Basin campgrounds will provide ‘Park Access+’, while those staying at Timber Creek Campground will have ‘Park Access’ (see map above for access location differentiation). If you plan to arrive any earlier than that, you would need to snag a separate, additional entry pass.

If you’re more keen to explore the backcountry, all of those wilderness permit reservations can also be made on recreation.gov here.

Pack Your Sack

An all inclusive packing list is difficult to detail at length as it truly depends on the time of year you’re visiting— as well as what trails you plan to hike. For example when we visited in late May, some trails were dry while others were rather muddy and others yet still had a couple feet of snow. Regardless, there’s a few staples that are nice to have:

A light jacket

Whether it’s cool at the summit or you’re just keen to ensure you stay warm on your snack/view break, you won’t regret bringing a little jacket along.

Trekking pole(s)

I didn’t used to feel like I needed these, but they can be SO CLUTCH when you’re tackling some serious elevation. I personally am more of a one pole gal, but pack whatever you need!

Merino Wool Socks

Merino wool will keep your feet warm when you need it to, but there’s so much more to it than warmth! They are generally a more supportive material to have hugging your foot for hours on end, and if you do find yourself with wet feet, merino wool will still keep you warm, even if you get it wet.

Layers

This is less specific, but generally speaking it’s nice to have a tank top + short sleeve + long sleeve + jacket outfit as opposed to just wearing one thicker shirt or jacket, just because temperatures can fluctuate throughout the hike. It’s nice to be able to adjust accordingly!

Hiking Boots

You’ll see plenty of people risking it all in their trainers, but we really recommend packing your hiking boots or at the very least trail running shoes to ensure you’re properly equipped.

Yak Trax

Even in the summer?! You’d be surprised! The Long’s Peak trailhead is up at over 9,000 feet of elevation, so the snow there will last well into June. The extra grip is a savior when you’re tromping through the snow!

Water Bottle

Water is a must! Get a bladder for your daypack or fill your reusable bottle up to the bring. It’s always better to be carrying a little extra water in your pack than it is to find yourself parched out on the trail. While you’re at it, maybe throw in a Gatorade too!

Snacks

We made multiple-times-a-day trips to the Safeway in Estes Park, so you don’t necessarily need to bring a full meal into the park, but you should definitely plan to bring some snacks along with you on the trail! Everyone’s summit snack of choice is different. We love a little trail mix and protein bar to power us back up, but there’s nothing like a pack of Gushers to reward yourself for a job well done.

Estes Park

Estes Park is the city just outside the east entrances to the national park. It is beyond convenient to have a bustling town nearby. It makes meals and hydration easier to stay on top of— plus there’s plenty of shops nearby if you happen to forget anything. Our only word of warning would be that it can get busy around there… like drive-around-for-30-minutes-trying-to-find-parking busy. There’s some awesome local breweries and restaurants tucked in there, but the local Safeway also makes for a close and easy spot if you’re hungry and need food NOW.

Day 1

The first day in the park can be a lot if you’re arriving from lower elevation. Everyone adapts to the changes in elevation differently, but regardless, it’s never a bad idea to make sure you’re drinking lots of water and paying attention to any symptoms you might be feeling.

The name of the game today is alpine lakes! First stop? Park at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead to hike out to see Alberta Falls & Mills Lake. The falls are just before you hit 1 mile, so it’s a nice way to enjoy beautiful views along the way.

Distance: 5.5 miles round trip

Elevation: 825 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

Up next? The Bear Lake Loop! This short loop makes for a nice easy jaunt with a beautiful view. The ease of the hike makes it popular for visitors of all ages. If you’re feeling a bit nervous about being active at elevation, you could always starts with this nice warm-up before embarking on the Mills Lake loop.

Distance: 0.5 miles round trip

Elevation: 40 feet

Difficulty: easy

You can choose or or you can go see them all! The trail to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake splits off right from the Bear Lake Loop trail, so this makes for an easy add on, if you still feel like you have some hiking left. The milage and elevation progressively increase the farther you go, with Emerald Lake being the farthest down the trail. Beautiful lakes— plus you get to pull away from the crowds on the Bear Lake Loop.

Distance: 1, 2.2, 3.6 miles round trip

Elevation: 225, 425, 605 feet

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Day 2

Now that you’ve got your feet under you, get ready for an early wake up that will take you for an amazing ride. Parking at the Long’s Peaks trailhead, get ready to tackle the beautiful hike to Chasm Lake. We visited in late May (over memorial day weekend), and we were rathered humbled by the snow still on the trail. Even being prepared with trekking poles and yak trax, the snow just inherently makes things a bit slower going. Even at a slow pace, it was an amazing hike with waterfalls, sweeping vistas, and amazing alpine views.

Picture below is the junction overlooking Peacock Pond, just under a mile out from Chasm Lake. The combination of thick snow and sheer ledge in the remaining portion of the hike had us hesitant to finish the last leg, but it would be such a no brainer in late summer or early fall.

Distance: 8 miles round trip

Elevation: 2,550 feet

Difficulty: hard

If you’re feeling a little tuckered out after a longer hike, the game plan for the rest of the day is far more relaxing. Trail Ridge Road connects the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park to the west, with breathtaking sweeping views and a staggering elevation of over 12,000 feet. If you feel like you still have a little something left in the tank, you can tackle the short (0.6 miles) Alpine Ridge Hike at the Alpine Visitor Center. If you make it all the way to the end of the road, you can also explore Grand Lake!

Day 3

How frisky are you feeling today? A real choose-your-own-adventure situation awaits. If you’re a big time hiker and can crush big hike days back to back, the Sky Pond hike is a must-do. You’ll want to start early, parking at either the Bear Lake or Glacier Gorge Trailhead and get on your way. This is actually more than a hike as there’s a bit of scrambling required towards the end.

Distance: 8.5 miles round trip (from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead)

Elevation: 1,700 feet

Difficulty: Hard

If your legs aren’t quite up for another long hike, but still want to saunter around, the Beaver Mountain Loop will be perfect. This hike explores and overlooks the Fall River area of the park. There’s a couple lookout points that take small detours from the trail and are so worth popping off for. Beautiful vistas from a new vantage point!

Distance: 4.2 miles round trip

Elevation: 850 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

The Sprague Lake Loop really is a hike for anyone with its handicap accessibility and gorgeous sweeping views. Even if your legs are feeling a bit tuckered out from a morning adventure, this easy and relaxing hike is largely paved making it the perfect spot for an evening walk.

Distance: 1 miles round trip

Elevation: 40 feet

Difficulty: easy

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Rocky Mountain National Park is an amazing destination for anyone looking to spend some time immersed in nature. It has the unique ability to enthrall the casual visitor, while providing all the thrill adventure-seekers may be looking for. We hope you have an amazing time exploring this gem. Happy travels!

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