We usually go for a hike in the morning and another in the evening. Bear lake is a good evening hike as most people are gone by that time and parking is available.
Rocky Mountain National Park Vacation - Question
- Thread starter throwittoblythe
- Start date
Arriving before 9am gets you into everything EXCEPT Bear Lake Road.
Permits are also released 2 weeks, 4? days, and 1 day before entry day, so if you miss in July dont give up. Its at 8am (or 10am?) Mountain Time.
Recreation.gov also has an app you can use that works well for getting permits when they are released.
The bear lake road shuttle is the way to go, you wont be up early enough to get a spot at the top. Save the 20min drive up and back to the shuttle lot and just stop at the shuttle lot the first time you pass it.
Parking in the rest of the park is random, not a ton of large lots, mostly scattered spots you can pull off.
Permits are also released 2 weeks, 4? days, and 1 day before entry day, so if you miss in July dont give up. Its at 8am (or 10am?) Mountain Time.
Recreation.gov also has an app you can use that works well for getting permits when they are released.
The bear lake road shuttle is the way to go, you wont be up early enough to get a spot at the top. Save the 20min drive up and back to the shuttle lot and just stop at the shuttle lot the first time you pass it.
Parking in the rest of the park is random, not a ton of large lots, mostly scattered spots you can pull off.
Was going to suggest this too given the kids’ age. This will be one you can access and find parking. Would also recommend heading south to Ouzel falls. A little long to get to the big falls.
Our kids were 8 and 10 and we did the following:
Day 1: Gem lake
Day 2: Mills lake/Alberta Falls
Day 3: Ouzel Falls
Day 4: Kayaked im the lake in town and dunked around the town.
Day 5: Cub Lake and departed.
This is super helpful, thank you!
We are there for 5 days, too. We plan to spend the first day on an easier hike and checking out Estes. My daughter wants to tour the Stanley Hotel, too. We have a half a day horseback riding near Sprague Lake. We did Utah a few years ago when the kids were 6 and 3. They did great with hiking even then. We hiked for hours without complaint.
Our approach is we don't have to see everything and not even the "big" things if it's gonna take getting them up at 4am or hiking further than they can go. That'll just make everyone miserable later in the day. They're kids. They'll be happy to just run around in nature. Hell, our youngest won't even remember half the trip anyway. So, we want to do hikes everyone will enjoy and have a good time.
What I want to avoid is spending hours in the car looking for a parking spot. I'd rather go to a different part of the park and just get out in nature.
Went last Aug with a 5 & 7 yr old for 3 days.
We got on Recreation.gov right at 9AM on July 1 when you can start getting timed entry passes. Tried to get 8AM-10AM entry passes to Bear Lake section for each day. Got them for the 1st 2 days but by 9:13AM on July 1, there were no 8-10AM passes available. We got a 10AM-Noon pass for the 3rd day then so it wasn't too bad. I think the 8AM entry passes are the ones that run out first.
You'll very likely (especially this year) have to wait in line at the park entry shack to get your vehicle park pass OK'd. A timed entry pass (separate from park pass) for Bear Lake is the time for entry at the Bear Lake section entry. You may have a short wait here too. Then it depends on where in that section you're going and how much you want to gamble, but you'll likely park at the shuttle lot and then wait a good chunk of time for everyone in line before you to get on a shuttle. With the 8AM entry pass, we had to wait until 9:20am for shuttle seats, and then we got up to Bear Lake around 9:30am. Wasn't bad as long as you were expecting to stand in a line for awhile.
Next day we drove into the Bear Lake area w/ 8am entry pass headed for Sprague Lake (we'd recommend going here). Barely found a parking spot and then we started that short trail at 9am. This was the highlight of the trip because we got to see a couple moose in the lake. Sounds like it was common to see them there in the mornings but we would have seen more than 2 if we had been there even 20 minutes earlier.
Another place my kids enjoyed was the alluvial fan. They got to be in a stream, play with some small rocks, and do some bouldering-type climbing.
I would check out the AllTrails app. They had great info on all of the hikes and you could see from people's reviews if there had been any wildlife around recently. That's how we found out about the moose at Sprague Lake.
We got on Recreation.gov right at 9AM on July 1 when you can start getting timed entry passes. Tried to get 8AM-10AM entry passes to Bear Lake section for each day. Got them for the 1st 2 days but by 9:13AM on July 1, there were no 8-10AM passes available. We got a 10AM-Noon pass for the 3rd day then so it wasn't too bad. I think the 8AM entry passes are the ones that run out first.
You'll very likely (especially this year) have to wait in line at the park entry shack to get your vehicle park pass OK'd. A timed entry pass (separate from park pass) for Bear Lake is the time for entry at the Bear Lake section entry. You may have a short wait here too. Then it depends on where in that section you're going and how much you want to gamble, but you'll likely park at the shuttle lot and then wait a good chunk of time for everyone in line before you to get on a shuttle. With the 8AM entry pass, we had to wait until 9:20am for shuttle seats, and then we got up to Bear Lake around 9:30am. Wasn't bad as long as you were expecting to stand in a line for awhile.
Next day we drove into the Bear Lake area w/ 8am entry pass headed for Sprague Lake (we'd recommend going here). Barely found a parking spot and then we started that short trail at 9am. This was the highlight of the trip because we got to see a couple moose in the lake. Sounds like it was common to see them there in the mornings but we would have seen more than 2 if we had been there even 20 minutes earlier.
Another place my kids enjoyed was the alluvial fan. They got to be in a stream, play with some small rocks, and do some bouldering-type climbing.
I would check out the AllTrails app. They had great info on all of the hikes and you could see from people's reviews if there had been any wildlife around recently. That's how we found out about the moose at Sprague Lake.
The last time I was there (2022, I think) there was sort of a workaround for the timed entry permit if you camped--in that if you had a campsite that got you into the park whenever you wanted. We camped at Morraine park, which got us onto Bear Lake Road. Didn't do any real long hikes on that trip but I believe hiked Bear-Dream-Emerald lakes (some of the best return on effort hiking there is, although can be somewhat congested); we took shuttle bus from the big lot to Bear Lake trailhead and it worked out fine.
It used to be that you could snag parking at the Bear Lake trailhead mid-afternoon as the early crowd got back from their hikes and cleared out. Not sure if that's still possible/practical now that they're restricting access to the road, but may be worth looking into if you're planning on short hikes and prefer to avoid loading up kids and stuff onto shuttle bus. IIRC signs would say parking lot closed anytime after the initial fill-up, but if you drove up there later in the day there would be lots of open spots.
It used to be that you could snag parking at the Bear Lake trailhead mid-afternoon as the early crowd got back from their hikes and cleared out. Not sure if that's still possible/practical now that they're restricting access to the road, but may be worth looking into if you're planning on short hikes and prefer to avoid loading up kids and stuff onto shuttle bus. IIRC signs would say parking lot closed anytime after the initial fill-up, but if you drove up there later in the day there would be lots of open spots.
This is exactly the info I was looking for, thank you!
How is the parking at the park & go lot on Bear Lake Rd? I've read that can fill up.
We won't need to go to Bear Lake every day. If we're in the Park 4 days, we'll get one Bear Lake pass for horseback riding at Sprague Lake. So maybe want one or two more days at Bear Lake area. Otherwise, we're happy to spend a day or two in the less busy areas where it's not so insane.
Ouzel falls is one of the most underrated hikes in the area and you don't need to go into RMNP.
They make it confusing for you on the the timed entry.
IF you are wanted to hit Bear Lake road, then you absolutely need timed entry pass between 5am and 6pm and you have to hit that time within 2 hours.
If you just want to do RMNP without Bear Lake Road (you can still take a shuttle (hiker shuttle from Estes and requires reservations) into Bear Lake area) you DON"T need timed entry before 9 am. NOTE you have to clear the entrance gate before 9, the watch it to the minute so get there before 9, our experience is a 20-30 minute line at 9. We live about 45 minutes from entrance so we often leave to get there by 7ish and rarely hit much of a line. RMNP Shuttle service
Also, you can do a nice hike from YMCA of the Rocky's over a ridge to Sprague Lake (which is on Bear Lake Road) and you can hike farther from there if you want. You still need a National Park Pass but you don't need to enter through gates with car, you can base at YMCA of the Rockies. The hike over to Sprague Lake is great in itself. As mentioned above, Sprague Lake is one of the most likely spots to see Moose.
Another nice hike out of Estes is Lumpy Ridge to east of Estes. You don't need to go in park for that one either. Good chance you will see some rock climbers around Twin Owls early in the day. Lumpy Ridge Trailhead
IF you are wanted to hit Bear Lake road, then you absolutely need timed entry pass between 5am and 6pm and you have to hit that time within 2 hours.
If you just want to do RMNP without Bear Lake Road (you can still take a shuttle (hiker shuttle from Estes and requires reservations) into Bear Lake area) you DON"T need timed entry before 9 am. NOTE you have to clear the entrance gate before 9, the watch it to the minute so get there before 9, our experience is a 20-30 minute line at 9. We live about 45 minutes from entrance so we often leave to get there by 7ish and rarely hit much of a line. RMNP Shuttle service
Also, you can do a nice hike from YMCA of the Rocky's over a ridge to Sprague Lake (which is on Bear Lake Road) and you can hike farther from there if you want. You still need a National Park Pass but you don't need to enter through gates with car, you can base at YMCA of the Rockies. The hike over to Sprague Lake is great in itself. As mentioned above, Sprague Lake is one of the most likely spots to see Moose.
Another nice hike out of Estes is Lumpy Ridge to east of Estes. You don't need to go in park for that one either. Good chance you will see some rock climbers around Twin Owls early in the day. Lumpy Ridge Trailhead
We only did the Bear Lake shuttle for 1 day. I would say that by 9am, the area I circled in yellow was full. So maybe 2/3. I don't remember how full the parking lot looked when we got back in the afternoon. Sorry.
Also, this was on a Monday. I'm sure Fri-Sun are way busier.
The Bear Lake section of the park contains the trails for so many other great hikes. I'd be nice if they could divide them in half or something and have separate parking/shuttle areas. But I get why they did it the way they did.
Gem Lake and Ouzel are two good options for different hikes with better parking. Ouzel is maybe 30 minute drive from Estes to the Wild Basin trailhead (I don't remember exactly).
Gem Lake gives the high/clearing sweeping views, and Ouzel gives you more of the dense forest, rivers and of course water fall option. I think others have given some good options on how to get access to a couple of the main park hikes and parking/shuttle.
I'd say most of ours we were done by 1-2 and were more laid back each afternoon. It was about right. Plus one day in the week to stay low key and rest a bit. I definitely liked that we did a hike the last morning, then took off that afternoon. Especially because at the very end of our last hike at Cub lake we say Moose w/ two calves across the lake. Very cool.
We live about 20 miles away. Wish I could buy a fellow Cyclone fan a beer, but gonna be moving kid #1 to Arizona that week. You've already received some good advice here, so I'll butt out.
Additionally, Smokin Daves BBQ is legit. As is the place called Donut Haus.
That's a good idea. We are arriving on a Saturday (driving from Iowa) so we'll get there just in time to check in and get groceries for our place. Sunday is a chill-ish day. M-Thurs will be hiking days then depart on Friday. I hadn't thought of doing a small hike Friday morning. Especially with our kids that's a great idea since it could wear them out before we hit the road for 10 hours.
Chasm Lake is awesome. Best way in my opinion is to get up way before sunrise (3-4 hours). Drive to the Longs Peak Trailhead, Then hike to Chasm Lake timing it so you are at Chasm Lake to see sunrise. Not sure your hiking speed, condition etc. But viewing sunrise from Chasm Lake is awesome.
Another lesser visited area that I love to hike is the Wild Basin corner (southeast corner). Park at the Wild Basin Trailhead and then take the trail west to Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls. You can continue on to Ouzel Lake and /Bluebird Lake or turn around.
Another recommendation is to be near the top of Trail Ridge Road at sunset. I think the best view is a little east of the Alpine Visitor Center, maybe at the Gore Range or Lava Cliffs turn outs. But has been awhile so I might be wrong on the best turn out to view sunset.
Last recommendation for Bear Lake. Get there EARLY EARLY. (not sure on current parking rules). From Bear Lake hike to Nymph Lake, then on to Dream Lake and then to Emerald Lake. Turn around and when you reach Dream Lake head south to kae Haiyaha. Now you can turn around and go back to Bear Lake. Or, you can continue south to the next rrail junction and turn right to The Loch and possibly Timberline Falls, Then turn around and go past the Lake Haiyaha junction to Alberta Falls. The trail will end at Glacier Gorge Trailhead. If you did all of the above it will be late in the day, but the park shuttle hopefully will still be running to take you to the Bear Lake Parking lot. To do all the above, you need to be 'hiking' not 'sightseeing'. Or hike the Flattop Mtn trail for high elevation views.
Did a very similar track as this with the family a couple years back, except in reverse. We got off the shuttle and started our hike at Glacier Gorge and then ended at Bear Lake. Was much more enjoyable without the crowded trails, and seeing the falls & lakes were a highlight of our time in the Park.
Highly recommend utilizing the shuttle service from the park & ride lot closer to the park entrance.
For non-park suggestions, the Stanley hotel ghost tour is pretty fun! There’s some mini golf courses that have crazy views and who doesn’t like mini golf? Finally the mountain coaster is a lot of fun. One thing I haven’t seen mentioned, if you go to Grand lake from Estes getting back into the park will require another timed entry pass before 5 and the wait after 5 can be a bastard.
That mini golf place used to super janky and run by the same old man for like 100 years but it some nostalgia. I think his kids or something took over and it’s better than it was but it’s been a few since I went. It was unbelievably cool though.
The Bear Lake Road permit situation can be confusing, and this is a solid game plan. I’ve heard the shuttle is the way to go too since trying to park up there after sunrise is basically impossible. Good tip on the Recreation.gov app as well, the timed permit releases can be a lifesaver if you’re flexible
