Over the past several years I’ve been on a series of trips that I thought of as an “appetizer sampler” of the national parks.
A hike here, a scenic drive there, a night or two camping if I was lucky enough to get a site. After making it to all of the Western national parks for quick visits over the last couple of years, it’s now time to move on to more in-depth stays.
Rocky Mountain National Park was at the top of my list for return visits not only because it’s closer to my Midwest base, but also because it has so much to do. It’s also so popular that it can be hard to get into.
As I previously described, my reservation at Glacier Basin Campground allowed entry into the park beginning at 1 p.m. I focused on spending the afternoon getting set up and enjoying the view at my site, not only because the park is crowded during the day but because altitude is a concern.
Most of the park is above 8,000 feet elevation. On my first brief visit a few years ago, the challenges of the quick ascent were obvious even during brief walks on trails along the parts of Trail Ridge Road that are around 12,000 feet.
So this time, I stayed in Denver the night before my park arrival and avoided any real hikes until I’d spent one night camping in the park. The strategy seemed to pay off, without no noticeable problems for this traveler with low cardio fitness to begin with.
Hiking
In national parks, there are those who rise at 4 a.m. and hike until sunset. There are others who go no farther than the scenic overlooks. I fall into the middle category: moderate hikes in the morning, overlooks and visitors centers in the afternoon, and a nice stroll in the evening.
It’s actually the strategy that the park recommends in its brochures because there’s a good chance of popup rain and thunderstorms just about every afternoon during the summer.
My first full day in the park, I took the popular Emerald Lake Trail. At about four miles round-trip, it’s not long by hiking standards, but the quick elevation gain on parts of the trail seemed to make the hike moderately challenging for most. Hikers can catch their breath by enjoying the views of Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and finally Emerald Lake.
The Emerald Lake Trail is close to Alberta Falls, and both could be combined into one hike. But I saved a separate visit to Alberta Falls for another day. On its own, Alberta Falls is only about a two-mile round-trip from the Bear Lake trailhead, but you have to hike uphill part of the way there and part of the way back. There are also several other trails and lakes in this area that you could visit for a longer hike.
One of the many other falls in the park is the Calypso Cascades, which is in the Wild Basin area of the park. To get to the trailhead by road, you have to leave the park and re-enter at the Wild Basin area. The four-mile hike along a river goes past Copeland Falls and offers excellent views along the entire hike; some other hikers were adding on a few miles to continue to Ouzel Falls and back.
There are many, many other moderate to long hiking options described in numerous books and brochures. I’d considered many options, but after visiting multiple mountain lakes and falls, I didn’t feel a need to fit more into this particular week. More for the next visit.
Strolling
The park also offers many short “strolls” around mountain lakes, including Bear Lake and Sprague Lake in the Bear Lake Road corridor and Lily Lake along the western edge of the park, which is a convenient stop on the way back from Wild Basin.
These strolls are so pleasant that I went to Bear Lake and Sprague Lake multiple times. Persistence paid off because the weather was less than favorable on my first two visits to Sprague Lake. But the third time was spectacular!
One challenge of hiking or strolling at Rocky Mountain is just getting to the trailhead. Despite the tightly-controlled timed entry system, the parking lot at Bear Lake quickly fills. The trailhead serves Bear Lake itself and the hikes to Emerald Lake and Alberta Falls described above, as well as many other trails.
The park runs shuttles to Bear Lake, and the park-and-ride hub is about a ten-minute walk from Glacier Basin Campground. On one of my daytime visits to Bear Lake, I took a chance by driving and managed to find a space (there’s a ranger stationed at the entry who will tell you if there is one open).
I ended up using the shuttle twice, finding a long wait each time. I had to wait for the third bus on one of my visits.
Driving
Of course, Rocky Mountain is so spectacular you can enjoy excellent views without even leaving Trail Ridge Road. The tendency is to stop at overlooks, take a picture, and then hop right back into the car. I tried to make a point of spending more time enjoying the view at quieter spots.
One spectacular spot where patience paid off was the Gore Range overlook, which is near Trail Ridge Road’s highest elevation point. It was beginning to rain as I pulled into the parking lot. People from another car pulled up to take a selfie, but struggling in the rain, one person shouted “it’s not worth it!” and hopped back in the car.
After a heavy rain, the clouds parted and a wondrous mountain scene unfolded, with fog rising from the valley. No one else was there to see it at first. The parking lot soon started to fill as people saw the view from the road.
The most excellent views can be seen from Trail Ridge Road. Besides Gore Range, there are numerous overlooks and short hikes in the alpine that are an out-of-this-world experience. They can also be breathtaking both literally and figuratively if you haven’t adjusted to the altitude.
Another way to get to the top of the mountain is Old Fall River Road, a one-way dirt road that connects with Trail Ridge Road near the Alpine Visitor Center. The road is slow-going but offers rugged overlooks and good chances of a wildlife encounter.
When continuing west, Trail Ridge Road heads back down the mountain to the much quieter Kawuneeche Valley. I took a quick walk on the Coyote Valley trail, repeating a stop from my first visit, and checked out the recovery from wildfires along the road.
Camping
Another way to enjoy the mountain view is right from your campsite. Due to pine beetles, the park had to remove most of the trees from Glacier Basin Campground, opening up a spectacular view.
Of course, a lack of trees means no shade on sunny afternoons and lots of wind at times. One of my thick tent poles partially cracked during a windstorm, but not enough to prevent the tent from standing. The views were worth it.
One challenge of camping at Rocky Mountain, just like many other parks, is not attracting bears. Food lockers are provided, but at Glacier Basin Campground, only about every fourth site has a locker and campers are supposed to share. The rangers do not want you to leave any food, coolers, or scented items in your car, so things have to be moved around multiple times a day.
Estes Park was close enough that it was just easier to stop in town once a day to grab a meal rather than worry about cooking and cleaning.
The constant sorting of food was among the many usual challenges of camping. Anyone who’s camped knows the challenge of going to the restroom at night in the rain, and the lack of showers started to take its toll by the end of the week. Then there’s the noise from the late-arriving campers lasting until just a few hours before the early risers start rattling the food lockers.
All of this just makes you appreciate the comforts of home even more. And the memories inspire planning more trips in the future.