- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Badlands/Wind Cave/RMNP hikes/trails
Posted on 5/24/16 at 12:09 pm
Posted on 5/24/16 at 12:09 pm
I'll be up in the Black Hills area then Estes Park for a few days next week and will be going to these three parks. I've been to RMNP before and have some ideas of what I want to do there but does anybody have any recs on some good hiking trails in these parks.
I'll have two young kids (4 and 2) in tow so I'm not looking for anything super difficult or like 10 miles long. 3-4 miles is probably about the max that would be enjoyable for the party...
TIA
I'll have two young kids (4 and 2) in tow so I'm not looking for anything super difficult or like 10 miles long. 3-4 miles is probably about the max that would be enjoyable for the party...
TIA
3
Posted on 5/24/16 at 2:15 pm to RandySavage
LINK
Drive to the Bear Lake TH parking lot and as you can see on the interactive map linked above, there's tons of shorter trails accessible from that parking area at Bear Lake that lead to a lot of other cool lakes a little higher up.
Dream Lake is awesome......
Then if you keep going up past Dream Lake, up above the bench in the above picture on the far end of the lake, in front of the waterfall, there's Emerald Lake. The views up there at Emerald surrounded by Hallett Peak and Flattop Mtn with the Dragontials crags/spires in between is breathtaking.......
The first lakes along that trail, Bear and Nymph, are still cool, but going further up the trail up Tyndall Gorge to see Dream and especially Emerald Lakes are the real visual rewards.
Drive to the Bear Lake TH parking lot and as you can see on the interactive map linked above, there's tons of shorter trails accessible from that parking area at Bear Lake that lead to a lot of other cool lakes a little higher up.
Dream Lake is awesome......
Then if you keep going up past Dream Lake, up above the bench in the above picture on the far end of the lake, in front of the waterfall, there's Emerald Lake. The views up there at Emerald surrounded by Hallett Peak and Flattop Mtn with the Dragontials crags/spires in between is breathtaking.......
The first lakes along that trail, Bear and Nymph, are still cool, but going further up the trail up Tyndall Gorge to see Dream and especially Emerald Lakes are the real visual rewards.
This post was edited on 5/24/16 at 2:20 pm
Posted on 5/24/16 at 2:26 pm to RandySavage
quote:I can vouch for Mt. Ida (9 mile round trip, 12,800 top elevation) and Mills Lake (5.3 mi round trip). Mills Lake sits underneath Long's Peak.
RMNP
This is the picture on the CO state quarter.
The trail can be extended to around 10 miles (i recommend this) by adding Lakes Haiyaha, Dream, Emerald, and Bear.
Glacier Gorge to Bear Lake
Looking back from near Mt. Ida:
MILLS LAKE (you can't hike near Bear Lake without making the full loop and adding Mills Lake!!)
This post was edited on 5/24/16 at 2:52 pm
Posted on 5/24/16 at 2:31 pm to bayoubengals88
Also, keep in mind, there still could be a good amount of snow on the trails, especially in the trees on northern aspects where the snow doesn't see the sun. You could be post-holing some if you don't have snow shoes. They're just supposed to open Trail Ridge Road this Friday, just in time for the holiday weekend. It took them quite a bit of time and extra work to get it cleared, since some sections of the road were covered by up to 26' of snow.
This post was edited on 5/24/16 at 2:33 pm
Posted on 5/26/16 at 10:55 am to ColoradoAg03
Came across this. it's not RMNP, but in the hills around Boulder. Some really great hikes of all varieties and scenery.
LINK
LINK
Posted on 5/26/16 at 11:39 am to RandySavage
The things your kids will like best will be touring the cave, the wild buffalo herds in badlands ( ask park ranger where to find them) and Wall Drug store (don't miss it).
Posted on 5/26/16 at 8:45 pm to eye65
Did you, or anyone, do Wind Cave? Are there any decent hiking trails/drives in the park worth doing?
Posted on 5/26/16 at 10:22 pm to RandySavage
Toured the cave...didn't have much time for anything else. I think we hit mt Rushmore the same day before driving back to our camp in badlands. Looks like they have a few hikes though...
Badlands has lots of lookout /pull off points. I think it's a "go anywhere " style park where you can wander where you want...there were some established trails but they are either long or short. Kids will enjoy the prairie dogs too.
Badlands has lots of lookout /pull off points. I think it's a "go anywhere " style park where you can wander where you want...there were some established trails but they are either long or short. Kids will enjoy the prairie dogs too.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News