I agree with this. Estes has gotten WAY too touristy.
I know Breck is touristy too, but I enjoy that a lot more.
Rocky Mountain National Park - Hiking
- Thread starter JM4CY
- Start date
I agree with this. Estes has gotten WAY too touristy.
I know Breck is touristy too, but I enjoy that a lot more.
Those trails aren't as busy, and are great hikes, just a short drive south on Hwy 7. We have gone every year since 2001, but cancelled our vacation and rescheduled for October. Will miss homecoming this year unless they make the Oklahoma game a nite game. RMNP is a wonderful place, wish I could go there more than once a year.
For those of us who have made the trip to Estes every year, the sad news is that the Dunraven Inn has moved to a larger venue by Lake Estes. The small quaint restaurant with the ceiling covered with dollar bills is closed. I put a number of bills on that ceiling, always modified with plenty of hok hate!
Have done Flattop twice. It's a workout for sure, but the views are great. Also do the Bierstadt Lake hike, but start at Bear Lake and finish back at the bus stop at the bottom of the mountain. I've done it in both directions, going up the switchbacks to start isn't much fun.
One last idea, when you're in Estes Park and have 30 minutes; go to:
Images of Rocky Mountain National Park Gallery
203 Park Ln, Estes Park, CO 80517.
https://imagesofrmnp.com/
He has incredible pictures of Rocky Mountain National Park. Seeing the pictures in person is even better than viewing them on a small computer screen.
Found this video of CCY. Yep. I think that is going to have to happen. Sharing for any others interested.
This. If anyone does do flattop, I would strongly recommend trying to train a little and go around the gorge and up to the top of hallets. You have to scramble a little but it’s incredible. And doing Beirstadt going up to Bear Lake is horrible. Going down is the only way to do that one.
What do you want to see? Lakes? Peaks? Animals?
How far are you wanting to hike? Ouzel falls isn’t bad effort wise and was mentioned earlier. Alberta falls and emerald are real popular I believe but can get crowded. Emerald is really a must do if you haven’t been there.
I agree here. However, give all the covid stuff and changing of entrance time passes and all that, I’m interested to see how that effects crowds. Bear lake is such a great central spot but that parking lot can be such a pain in the ass
Son lives in Greeley. Greeley is 11 hours from Muskieville. EP is another hour.
Last summer, the Boss wanted to see a sunset from the continental divide. She did a little research and found a great guy who grew up in Berthoud and retired in EP. He has been in the park over 500 times.
We met in EP at 7pm. He drove us to some way out of the way places(Angry Falls) the back on Trail Ridge Road. We stopped at the Lava Cliffs to absorb the sunset at 12K'.
So different than near sea level(home). The sky is very compressed. The sliding of earths shadow is like a curtain opening across the most spectacular star show I have ever seen. Saw five satellites crossing the sky. A airliner looked to be about a thousand feet above us.
On the way down, Bruce(our guide) saw something. We stopped, got out, and watched a caribou buck strut within 20 yards, bugling for the girls. Late July is the start of the ruck.
My CF pic is me at a peak 12005' above sea level. Get in solid shape before attempting any hike like that.
Check for reservations. They are currently needed to enter the park.Perfect timing on this. I'll be taking my fam to Estes Park in less than a month. Was looking for the same thing. Say hello to those with Clone license plates.
https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/fees.htm
Enjoy it. The two times I've been to RMNP were great (granted they were 16 and 26 yrs ago (wow, that makes me feel really old)).
The one piece of advice I've gotten regarding hiking in any NP or in any of the national forest's is look for trailheads that require you to drive off asphalt or concrete pavement. Trails tend to be a lot less busy and they aren't that much more work to get to (typically just involves a little gravel road driving).
That and look into national forest trails as well. A lot of times right next to parks but get a lot fewer visitors (they do tend to be a little bit more rugged though).
The one piece of advice I've gotten regarding hiking in any NP or in any of the national forest's is look for trailheads that require you to drive off asphalt or concrete pavement. Trails tend to be a lot less busy and they aren't that much more work to get to (typically just involves a little gravel road driving).
That and look into national forest trails as well. A lot of times right next to parks but get a lot fewer visitors (they do tend to be a little bit more rugged though).
Thanks. Yeah, I bought passes online the day they were available. That was the whole point of going so happy they opened back up. My kids have never seen mountains so should be fun.
