Many national parks have been developing and implementing ways to better manage their visitors. Until now, none of the national parks have required any sort of reservations to enter. RMNP is the first park that has required a timed-entry, in which visitors purchase a $2 reservation to enter the park during a two hour time frame. Once entering visitors are allowed to stay as long as they want, and re-enter if they leave. Unfortunately, reservations have been booked up until late summer. RMNP has set aside tickets that can be purchased at 8:00 am mountain time two days prior, but they go VERY quickly. We managed to get ahold of a reservation to enter between 3-5 pm, but only once (one of the downsides of going cross country with virtually no planning). So, we did what we could to make every minute count for our visit to RMNP.
1. Walk around Estes Park
This is the only thing listed that is not in the park. When you have a time to enter the park, be sure to plan some time to walk around the gateway town. Estes Park has a parking garage adjacent to the visitor center to alleviate some of the traffic. Park at the visitor center and walk on the path that follows the river to the downtown area. The views are spectacular and the path is riddled with local shops and coffee places. After a short walk you end up downtown where there are dozens of small shops. Most of them are gift shops, but there are some other shops intermingled (like the beef jerky outlet and ice cream shops).
2. Stop by the Fall River Visitor Center
This is one of the visitor centers encountered entering the park. This one is operated by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, and as such does not have everything that the National Park Service ones have (like specific souvenirs). The people that work there are great, they have a passion for protecting the region and are very friendly. Stop here and learn about the park before you head in! The park ranger at the gate will give you a map, so don’t worry about picking one up here.
3. Drive the Old Fall River Road
This road is a one way dirt road that runs roughly 9 miles up into the mountains. The road climbs fairly steeply and has many switchbacks, but the road itself is well maintained and accessible by most vehicles. The road is only open from July 4th to September, so keep that in mind when planning your visit. There are a couple turnouts and parking areas, but they can fill up quickly. They are both for Chasm Falls. The first spot has a trail to reach the bottom of the falls, and the second leads to an overlook above them. The rest of the turnouts are narrow, enough for one car, but they offer great views of the mountains and valleys (if they are full, do not worry, you can get a much better view of the same valley from the Alpine Visitor Center).
Keep an eye out for wildlife along this road. Near the end of the road, once you cross into the alpine section of the mountain, there is a small body of water. the road curves around the water, and there are a number of turnoffs to park. There is a trail that ascends a nearby peak, which we did not do but looks like there would be a nice view. Around the lake were over half a dozen bull elk, sitting in the sun. It is unclear if they are there often (there were no signs saying to keep a safe distance), but there was both food and water present and they seemed comfortable. It is important that you stay a safe distance away from the wild animals, because they are wild. Keep in mind these tips:
- Bring a telephoto camera. A smartphone is likely not going to satisfy your hunger for an up close picture, and you will feel compelled to get just a little bit closer. We saw a few visitors running up very close to the elk, taking a photo with a camera, and running away. This is dangerous behavior, especially around an animal that is easily 3-5 times larger than you.
- Maintain a safe distance. The recommended distance is 25 yards, but that can be a little difficult to judge. The rule of thumb offered to us via signage was that if you are close enough to change the animals behavior, you are too close.
- Do not feed the wildlife. While it is tempting to lure animals to you for a photo, it is illegal! Feeding wildlife negatively impacts their ability to forage for food, introduces foreign food to their diet, and could be harmful to their health.
4. Drive the Trail Ridge Road
From the Alpine visitor center (which closes before 5 pm) take a left and drive back on the Trail Ridge Road (or turn right to exit out the west end of the park). This road will complete the loop back to where you came in. This is the most popular drive in the park. It has MANY turnouts and parking areas that overlook the Rocky Mountains. When you pull over to take in the view, listen for the high pitched chirps and squeaks of pikas and marmots. They both live in the alpine region of the mountains, running through the rocks and prairies.
5. Walk Around Bear Lake
This easy walk is around a mile in total, with wide paths and gentle slopes (there is a warning for steeper grades, I think you could take a wheelchair if you are careful). This is one of the most popular trails in the park and stays relatively busy. The lake is surrounded by mountains, which keeps the water calm and provides an excellent reflection. We did not have enough time to go on any of the longer hikes within the park, but there are a number of popular hiking trails that connect to this loop.
Good stuff! Keep it coming! Glad you’re having a good trip.