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Started By
Message
Rocky mountain national park ????
Posted on 7/1/26 at 3:47 pm
Posted on 7/1/26 at 3:47 pm
I had to change our plans from visiting Southwestern Colorado due to the uncertainty of the wildfires. Would appreciate any input on Rocky Mountain national Park and its surroundings related to excursions, hotels, etc. Thanks.
11
Posted on 7/1/26 at 3:57 pm to threeputt23
we stayed in Estes Park
Posted on 7/1/26 at 3:58 pm to threeputt23
Estes Park is a pretty cool little mountain town and it's the gate to the national park. Pretty touristy but fun things to kids to do. Grand lake is another nice mountain town on the west side of the national park. If I had to pick between the two, I would go with Grand lake.
Posted on 7/1/26 at 5:13 pm to threeputt23
I think you have to go online and get an entry permit. I had to about 5 years ago.
Posted on 7/1/26 at 7:09 pm to threeputt23
Trail ridge road is awesome. Take it to Grand Lake where you can hang out or rent a boat for the day.
Good whitewater rafting in Fort Collins
Horseback Riding
Tour the Shining Hotel (we did not do this)
Great hiking
Plenty of houses cabins available to rent
Good whitewater rafting in Fort Collins
Horseback Riding
Tour the Shining Hotel (we did not do this)
Great hiking
Plenty of houses cabins available to rent
Posted on 7/1/26 at 9:15 pm to threeputt23
The best hiking starts early in the morning, like at 5am or before. Dream Lake for sunrise is an unbelievable experience.
Driving trail ridge road over all the way to Grand Lake/Estes is a good day trip.
While Glacier Gorge and the Bear Lake area are the most popular hiking, Wild Basin to Sandbeach Lake is tough but incredible and East Inlet trail also has great hiking.
I love the place. I’ve been 6 times in 5 years.
Driving trail ridge road over all the way to Grand Lake/Estes is a good day trip.
While Glacier Gorge and the Bear Lake area are the most popular hiking, Wild Basin to Sandbeach Lake is tough but incredible and East Inlet trail also has great hiking.
I love the place. I’ve been 6 times in 5 years.
This post was edited on 7/1/26 at 9:16 pm
Posted on 7/2/26 at 11:58 am to armytiger96
quote:
Trail ridge road is awesome. Take it to Grand Lake where you can hang out or rent a boat for the day.
When traveling east to west on Trail Ridge, take the turnoff for Fall River Road. It's one way east to west, partly unpaved, and full of switchbacks, but it takes you above the treeline and into the alpine section of the park. Make a quick stop at the Alpine Visitors' Center.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 1:50 pm to threeputt23
give us a little more info. Kids, what were you planning to do before, etc.?
some generalities:
like all national parks, it's become very popular and so you'll need to do some advance planning as a result. Unless you get there super early, you'll need a timed entry pass and if you want to go down bear lakes road you'll need to make sure to get a pass that includes that and still plan to get there early and likely take a shuttle to your trailhead.
The trails around the bear lake road area are generally very crowded but they are very pretty. Avoid hiking the trails on the east side of this area where they run a bunch of commercial horseback day trips as these trails are pretty much completely covered in horse shite. If you want more seclusion, hike something that is not off of trail ridge or bear lake roads.
Estes mid summer is too crowded/touristy for my taste. We mostly camp when we are in the park, but when we have needed a hotel we stayed at the Gateway Inn in Grand Lake.
If you have kids, you might also look at staying at one of the YMCA properties. There is one in Estes that we have never stayed at, but we have stayed at Snow Mountain Ranch near Frasier several times and always enjoy it. A little further from RMNP, but it's a pretty spot with lots to do on property.
some generalities:
like all national parks, it's become very popular and so you'll need to do some advance planning as a result. Unless you get there super early, you'll need a timed entry pass and if you want to go down bear lakes road you'll need to make sure to get a pass that includes that and still plan to get there early and likely take a shuttle to your trailhead.
The trails around the bear lake road area are generally very crowded but they are very pretty. Avoid hiking the trails on the east side of this area where they run a bunch of commercial horseback day trips as these trails are pretty much completely covered in horse shite. If you want more seclusion, hike something that is not off of trail ridge or bear lake roads.
Estes mid summer is too crowded/touristy for my taste. We mostly camp when we are in the park, but when we have needed a hotel we stayed at the Gateway Inn in Grand Lake.
If you have kids, you might also look at staying at one of the YMCA properties. There is one in Estes that we have never stayed at, but we have stayed at Snow Mountain Ranch near Frasier several times and always enjoy it. A little further from RMNP, but it's a pretty spot with lots to do on property.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 1:56 pm to threeputt23
We stayed in Windcliff in Estes Park. Great views and a lot of different price points and size rentals depending on what you are looking for.
Nice little town. We cooked all of our meals, so I can't speak to the food there.
RMNP was great though. Hikes were awesome, weather was phenomenal. Went at the end of May so we still had a lot of snow on the ground so we weren't able to do all of Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake.
Nice little town. We cooked all of our meals, so I can't speak to the food there.
RMNP was great though. Hikes were awesome, weather was phenomenal. Went at the end of May so we still had a lot of snow on the ground so we weren't able to do all of Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 2:31 pm to threeputt23
Posted on 7/2/26 at 7:03 pm to Nole Man
Author, thanks for all info. In reference to ccard257, sorry should have said this. We’re a couple in our 60s but I’m not a hiker so we’ll be just enjoying the natural geological, flora and fauna sites. Interesting in excursions like rafting, zipping, etc. Maybe schedule a Red Rocks concert and glacial lakes. Thanks.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 4:15 pm to threeputt23
Plan ahead; you may not be able to get in when you want,
Posted on 7/3/26 at 9:50 pm to threeputt23
I am in the Durango area and am frequently. Drove through Pagosa Springs over to Creede today. No issues. Can see a haze in the mountain views and the smoke from fires off to the NW & NE. As far as Estes Park, hike to Sky Pond and thank me later. Did it last year on a torn meniscus. Doing it again in two weeks. Start before or at dawn. You do need a pass to get into the park. If you cannot get it ahead of time you can get it pretty easily the evening before. You just have to go online and be ready to pull the trigger. I think it is 7pm? It is entry time based. They hold a few passes for this purpose.
Posted on 7/3/26 at 10:11 pm to threeputt23
Emerald Lake is great too and less challenging. Do your research.
Posted on 7/5/26 at 6:21 am to driftwoodtigerfan
Timed entry permits needed and they book up once released 1 month in advance…however they do release a certain percentage the night before at 7 pm. Just be sure to login to the recreation.gov app a couple minutes before 7 and you should be good.
We were just there 3 weeks ago and got permits easily the night before.
Use the shuttle system if attempting any hikes on Bear Lake corridor. Parking fills up extremely early. Shuttles run every 15 minutes - very convenient.
If up to the hike highly recommend Mills Lake off of Glacier Gorge trailhead.
Catch a sunrise at Sprague Lake. Catch a sunset at Forest Canyon Overlook off Trail Ridge Road.
Enjoy…I love the place and could go back every year if wife would let me.
We were just there 3 weeks ago and got permits easily the night before.
Use the shuttle system if attempting any hikes on Bear Lake corridor. Parking fills up extremely early. Shuttles run every 15 minutes - very convenient.
If up to the hike highly recommend Mills Lake off of Glacier Gorge trailhead.
Catch a sunrise at Sprague Lake. Catch a sunset at Forest Canyon Overlook off Trail Ridge Road.
Enjoy…I love the place and could go back every year if wife would let me.
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