10 Things to Do in Rocky Mountain National Park!

rocky mountain national park is an amazing place it has high mountain peaks alpine tundra valleys full of wildlife pine trees waterfalls lakes everything you would hope to see when you visit the mountains in this video i'm going to talk about 10 great things you can do while visiting rocky mountain national park rocky mountain national park is located in north central colorado in the united states after visiting this park myself i would categorize this park into five general sections that's not necessarily how everybody categorizes this place but that was the easiest way for me to make this video and explain to you and what section of the park these different things are located so we have the grand lake area slash the como niche area that is the west and southwest section of the park we have the alpine region of the park we have the estes park and the fall river area of the park which is the north east section we have bear lake which is the central eastern section of the park and we have the wild basin area on the south east section of the park we spent about one week here in rocky mountain national park in june 2022. some areas of the park were closed due to wildfires from the past year and some areas of the park were still closed due to all of the snow that hasn't melted yet so in this video i'm gonna mention some things that i didn't get the chance to see because they were closed or we just didn't have time to make it over there during our week in the park and those will just have to be things that i see next time i visit rocky mountain national park and hopefully you'll get to pick and choose which of these things you would like to do when you visit rocky mountain national park i also quickly would like to mention that in 2022 during the peak season rocky mountain national park was requiring a timed entry reservation to enter the park during certain hours so if you are planning a visit to this park make sure you check the website and the link below this video where you can find more information about obtaining a timed entry reservation so you can get into the park when you are planning your visit all right let's dive into great things to do in rocky mountain national park number one on this list is the emerald lake hike this is a moderate hike located in the bear lake region of rocky mountain national park i have another video with a more in-depth guide to hiking this trail i will have a link for that in the description under this video if you want more information on that but this was probably my favorite hike while visiting rocky mountain national park you hike through a forested section walk along a lake a stream and then get to beautiful emerald lake which is a lake surrounded by mountain peaks and then it's an out and back hike so once you get to that lake you just hike back down to the trailhead i also wanted to mention for all of the hikes in the bear lake area if the bear lake parking lot is full there's an overflow lot that you can park in and then take a shuttle over to the trailhead you want to access next on my list is to drive trail ridge road across the park if you are staying in estes park you could take the road from there all the way down to grand lake in the southwest section of the park or if you are staying in grand lake like we did then you can take that road all the way up north and over east to estes park area this road is about 50 miles from grand lake to estes park it takes almost two hours to do that 50 mile drive you are going all the way up into the tundra the alpine tundra biome when you are doing this drive it is incredible to see in person no trees can grow up that high the highest point on the road is 12 183 feet some parts of the park go higher than that but that's where the highest point along alpine ridge road is the alpine section of this road closes every year it's only open from memorial day until mid-october due to all of the snow that accumulates up there so if you're planning your visit i recommend visiting somewhere after memorial day and before mid-october so that you can experience that drive all the way through because it is pretty amazing it's a little intimidating as well you definitely want to take your time with it the first time on that road while you're driving alpine ridge road there are a handful of beautiful overlooks along the drive my personal favorite was the forest canyon overlook it's a short walk from a parking area to an overlook of the mountains and just below the overlook there is a boulder field where you can listen very closely and watch and maybe see some pica one of my favorite animals [Music] next up on our list is to do a hike from the glacier gorge trailhead the glacier gorge trailhead is in the bear lake region of rocky mountain national park the options i have for you from this trailhead are number one to hike to alberta falls which would be an easy hike 1.6 miles out and back total with about 250 feet elevation gain if you want to make it a moderate hike you could continue your hike past alberta falls to the lock which is like a sub alpine lake very beautiful this would be a moderate hike and would have 5.4 miles out and back total and 1000 feet elevation change or if you are super ambitious and an experienced hiker then i would recommend the hike to sky pond which is the hike that i did this was quite the adventure i did not know what i was getting into when i did this hike i had to hike over multiple snow fields climb up the side of a waterfall but i saw some amazing lakes and sky pond with the jagged cliff mountain tops is breathtaking to see i have a video on hiking to sky pond if you want more information on that hike i'm just gonna say it right now if you are not an experienced hiker do not attempt to go all the way to sky pond and back i definitely recommend hiking to the lock though because that is a beautiful lake if you are not as experienced you can probably still get up to the lock just make sure you are prepared with water sunscreen snacks and all that good stuff [Music] [Music] [Music] after getting in a great hike in the berry lake area i would recommend having a picnic at either bear lake or sprague lake these are both in the bear lake area and they're easy to access there is a parking lot very close to both of these lakes so you don't have to hike a long way to get to them bear lake is a little over a half mile flat loop walk around the lake and sprog lake is about three quarters of a mile also a flat walking path around the lake both of these lakes have benches along the path in some places near the lake where you can sit and have a picnic and just take in all of the amazing views [Music] next up on our list of things to do in rocky mountain national park is the easy walk along the coyote meadow trail this trailhead is located on the western side of the park just about a 20-minute drive north from grand lake colorado the parking lot for this trailhead only fits about 12 cars and vehicles over 21 feet don't make it down to this area very easily so because not a lot of cars can fit here it is never super crowded it's a really nice peaceful walk it's an easy walk it's a flat gravel path that takes you along the river and it's only one mile out and back as you continue the walk you get a view of the big flat open meadow with the mountains to the background [Music] and this is a great hike for viewing wildlife i saw elk moose and different water birds while doing this hike [Music] if you have a spotting scope or binoculars i recommend bringing that along with you for this hike because some of the wildlife is very far away in the open valley and it's easier to see if you have a spotting scope if you're shopping around for a spotting scope i put a link for the one that we purchased in the description under this video next up on our list is to visit the town of grand lake or visit the town of estes park most likely if you're visiting this park you're coming in through one of these entrances and there's some stuff to see and do in these towns we personally only had time to visit grand lake colorado and i would highly recommend that it's a cute town that has a row of shops with restaurants souvenir stores little grocery stores real estate offices all that fun stuff and the town is right on grand lake so you can walk right down to grand lake if you would like to do that there are a few hiking trails that enter rocky mountain national park right behind the town of brand lake as well we ate at the sagebrush bar and grill and we really enjoyed that they had an outdoor seating area and delicious hot food while you are in the southwest corner of the park possibly visiting the town of grand lake you should also make your way over to the east inlet trailhead this trailhead gives you access to adams falls which is only a 0.6 mile out and back hike relatively easy or you could continue your hike along that path all the way to lone pine lake lake verna or spirit lake if you really want to make it a strenuous hike we chose the easy hike on this day and just went to adams falls and back to the parking lot if you decide to continue along that path beyond adams falls it's 10.6 miles out and back to hike to lone pine lake or it's 15.7 miles out and back if you would like to hike all the way to spirit lake and back [Music] so [Music] so [Music] the parking area at the east inlet trailhead has restrooms and it's also very close to grand lake you can see grand lake from that parking lot next up on our list is to drive old fall river road from the fall river area up to the alpine visitor center this road was completed in 1920 and it was the first auto route in the park that offered access all the way up to the alpine tundra area this road is a one-way road you can only take this route up hill to the alpine visitor center and then you have to take trail ridge road back down this road is also only open from the beginning of july through september so we did not get the chance to take this drive because the road wasn't open yet when we visited in june they call this an uphill motor nature trail it's a dirt road with tight switchbacks and no guardrails there are some steep drops off to the sides so be very careful when you're taking this road vehicles 25 feet or longer are not permitted to take old fall river road seems like there are some beautiful views along this road and you get to see a whole other section of the park that you can't see along trail ridge road after you take old fall river road all the way up to the alpine tundra area it meets back up with trail ridge road right at the alpine visitor center so if you are interested in learning more about the park specifically the alpine tundra environment you should totally check out the alpine visitor center this visitor center is open from may 28 to october 10th weather permitting uh 9 30 a.m to 5 p.m are the hours while you're up there at the big parking lot for the alpine visitor center in the north corner of the alpine visitor center parking lot is the trailhead for the alpine ridge trail this is a short trail that just takes you uphill to get another amazing view of the alpine tundra all around you last but certainly not least on this list is the hike to cascade falls it is 7.4 miles out and back just over 700 feet elevation gain and is considered an easy to moderate route this hike begins at the north inlet trailhead just north of grand lake in the southwest region of rocky mountain national park the trail takes you along the river until you get to some beautiful cascading water over some rocks this trail will take you past the area that previously burned in 2021 so you're likely to see some trees that are more barren i didn't mention anything about the wild basin area of rocky mountain national park because we did not visit that section of the park it seems like this is a less visited area of the park there are a handful of trails that could take you to waterfalls or lakes here this is a trail map of the area all right guys that wraps up my video of 10 great things to do in rocky mountain national park of course there are many more things to do in this park that i didn't get the chance to do if you have something that i didn't mention in this video that you really enjoy and you would like to share please leave a comment below this video so other people can find more things to do in the park as well i have included the visitor program that you are given when you enter the park through an entrance station i have screenshots of each page right here if you have any more questions and you want to just look through that brochure thanks for watching guys i hope you enjoyed this video if you are heading to rocky mountain national park soon then have a wonderful trip as i mentioned i have some helpful links related to rocky mountain national park in the description section under this video so you can check those out make sure you also hit the subscribe button while you're here so you don't miss any more of our fun travel adventures like this one if you have questions about the park you can leave a comment below and i will try to answer to the best of my abilities thanks again for watching have a great day and happy travels

Channel: Travel SzN

Views: 80,501

Keywords: travel szn, travel vlog, national park vlog, nature vlog, hiking videos, nature videos, national parks

Id: bPSzFoym-JI

Length: 19min 7sec (1147 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 23 2022