I was born and raised in Colorado but have no recollection of going to Rocky Mountain National Park so I was ecstatic about the trip.
We spent the first day driving the Trail Ridge Road (which had luckily just opened after an early snowstorm that was followed by a fire in the area) and hiking two off-shoot trails (Tundra Communities Trail and Alpine Ridge Trail). Doug also hiked to Fern Falls. The following day we arrived early to hike from Nymph Lake to Emerald Lake and then on our way back hit Bear Lake. I’ll review both days here.
As I mentioned, growing up my family camped a lot in the Rockies, owned land and camped in Cotopaxi, and later lived in Fairplay, CO best known for the irreverent South Park cartoon and a “world famous” burro race with the slogan “Get Your Ass Up the Pass”. I graduated from Fairplay’s South Park Highschool and yes, my sister and I laugh all the time at the show’s parallels.
As far as I know, we never made a reservation to camp, we just drove backroads until my parents found the perfect spot. Colorado’s population has since exploded so while there’s still a lot of great places to commune with nature, reservations are often needed. Most of the year, Rocky Mountain National Park now requires advanced reservations and you must enter the park within the two hour timeslot assigned.
Because Trail Ridge Road had been closed up until the day of our reservation and a fire nearby was threatening to close or partially close it again, we decided that with this small window of opportunity we’d drive this iconic route on day 1.
With multiple peaks climbing to 12 and 13 thousand feet and layers and layers of mountains along the horizon, the vast landscape and depth of the valleys below was impossible to photograph through an iPhone screen. Winding around those Herculean peaks felt futile, like a fly circling an elephant, but I couldn’t put my camera down. The views along this drive were jaw dropping.
Our first hike (Tundra Communities Trail) was a paved, 1 mile out and back trail in a dry and grassy meadow of the alpine area born of strong sunlight with UV radiation twice that of sea level and little snow accumulation due to winds that can exceed 150mph at this elevation. Even at 12,200 feet, there are 360 degree views of still higher peaks. Despite what appeared to be a very stark landscape, standing still for a few minutes revealed birds and a few marmots. This short out and back walk ends in mushroom shaped rocks and spectacular views.
As a general rule, for every 1000 feet above sea level the temperature drops about 5 degrees, so a cool 65 degree day in Estes Park (7000 ft) ends up being about 40 degrees at some viewpoints. In addition, a lot of people will say the air is thinner. While the percentage of oxygen in the air doesn’t change as you go up in elevation (it remains about 21%), the air pressure decreases meaning the molecules are spread further apart so you don’t get as much oxygen as you breath. At 12,000 feet, the reduced air pressure means each breath provides 30-40% less oxygen than a California girl like me would get at sea level. The change in temperature, the degree of wind and the lack of oxygen was really noticeable at our next stop where we hiked a mere 0.64 miles and 300 feet up from the Alpine Visitor Center, ascending a staircase to reach the 12,000ft overlook.
What I loved about that first day in Rocky Mountain National Park was the contrast from valley floor to pinnacle – from the thick yellow tufted grass pillows that slowly gave way to stacked deep green pines followed by razor sharp grey or indigo blue mountain tops dusted with snow. Simply beautiful.
Exhausted from the elevation, the whipping wind and cold temperatures, I took a backseat while Doug, like the energizer bunny he is, kept going and going. He completed a 5.5 mile round trip hike to Fern Falls while the dog and I napped soundly in the back of the RV.
At lower elevations, the water is crisp, cool and clear. The grass is greener near its edges and the hillsides sprinkled with Aspen just starting to turn provide more depth to the surrounding pine forests. The trail we hiked on day 2 took us from to Bear Lake to Emerald Lake and back. Day 2 was warmer and the forest was alive with the pleasant sound of babbling streams, warbling birds and chirping chipmunks. The hike from to Emerald Lake (passing Nymph and Emerald Lakes along the way) is 1.8 miles with 600 feet of elevation gain. It starts at a slightly lower elevations (around 9,400 ft) so it was easier for me than day 1. This popular hike is moderate, especially if you aren’t accustomed to higher elevations. We stopped at Bear Lake on the way back as well.
Like the Gem Lake hike (link here) I was proud of my efforts, but have to give a shout out to my dad and stepmom, Sue, who hiked this area with crampons in winter after we’d been there in the fall! #beasts #respect #thatsimpressive!
There are so many places to explore in Rocky Mountain National Park, but with limited time in the park due to the reservation system, I don’t know how you can miss the Trail Ridge Road drive or the hikes near Bear Lake. They’re the most popular for a reason…they’re fantastic!
