Things To Do In Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the best places to visit in Colorado, with excellent hiking, beautiful views, and stunning wildlife. Here are our top 5 picks for things to do in the park, along with tips for visiting, important info, and more to prepare you for a visit to RMNP.
Located within driving distance of Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the best ‘getaway’ National Parks you can visit. Its main park loop is easy to navigate providing short trips to the park a sense of accomplishment. It’s also a great park for longer vacations, as it has numerous trails and impressive landscapes to see once you get beyond the awe of the Rocky Mountains visible from the main loop (Trail Ridge Road).
Whether you’re looking to sight-see from your car, hike, watch for wildlife, or even do backcountry exploring, Rocky Mountain National Park is a great option. While this ‘best of’ list offers highlights of Rocky Mountain National Park, it should not be read as a comprehensive guide. Our full list of things could be accomplished in a single weekend, but you could spend weeks there and not complete all the trails or backcountry sights. If you have more time, there’s a lot of great info on the National Park Service’s website.
There are a lot of awesome ways to spend your time in Rocky Mountain National Park–let’s take a look at our favorites!
5. Drive Old Fall River Road
Trail Ridge Road is perhaps the most beautiful drive in the United States. It is not to be missed, and is to be savored. However, if you’re visiting Rocky Mountain National Park in the spring, fall, or summer, you are pretty much going to be driving Trail Ridge Road by default, so it wouldn’t make for much of a suggestion to do something that literally everyone going to the park will be doing.
While Trail Ridge Road is a beautiful, modern drive, Old Fall River Road offers just as breathtaking views on a ‘road less traveled.’ (Basically, it’s the predecessor to Trail Ridge Road). After you spend some time doing a slow loop on Trail Ridge Road, go around again, and this time take the turn-off for Old Fall River Road.
It’s more intimate, with everything closer to the vehicle and a series of sharp turns, and much slower-paced (the 11 mile road will probably take around 45 minutes to drive), but it’s well worth it. Since this road is now far less popular and more entwined with nature, it now provides excellent opportunities for viewing elk, and is a great place to get away from the crowds.
The only thing is here–we beg of you–don’t be those people who visit a National Park and do the entire park from their car and pull-offs. Get out, off the road and out of the parking lots, and actually experience the park.
4. Sunrise at Sprague Lake
Sprague Lake is one of the best spots for a peaceful sunrise in Rocky Mountain National Park, with the sun illuminating the mountains in the morning. The water is also especially placid, making for great reflection photos. We also like Sprague Lake in the morning because it’s a great location to see elk and other wildlife (see the first photo, above).
Technically, getting to Sprague Lake requires a hike, as the lake itself is about a half-mile off of Bear Lake Road, along the Sprague Lake Loop. The full trail is less than a mile (start to finish), and is gravel the entire way with virtually no elevation change, so calling this an actual hike is a bit of a stretch. Still, it offers great views that are a bit off the main path, and is the perfect option for those who are super-lazy or have medical mobility issues.
3. Hike to Nymph, Dream & Emerald Lakes
Outside of people who are a little too enthusiastic about hiking, one of the biggest complaints about many hikes is that they offer little more than repetitive views of trees. As alluring as spending a few hours going up a grade to see trees is, we look for something more when hiking. The Bear Lake Trailhead offers exactly this, as it goes around these three lakes, with sweeping views, streams…and lest we forget…TREES(!!!) along the way.
In all seriousness, this trail does offer some impressive views and a lot of variety. In total, it’s 3.6 miles round-trip, but it’s a fairly easy hike. Plus, you can always turn back once you’ve seen one or two of the lakes (we recommend doing at least the first two). It starts with Nymph Lake (named that for its large swarms of promiscuous insects), which offers great views of Hallet Peak and Longs Peak, two of the highest peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Dream Lake is next, and while its views aren’t nearly as impressive (in our opinion), the views you’ll see from overlooks between the two are impressive. From there, it’s on to Emerald Lake. This lake was carved by the notorious Tyndall Glacier, which allegedly went on a lake-carving streak back in the day. This is another beautiful lake with plenty of spots to sit and enjoy nature’s tranquility. We recommend packing starting this hike fairly early and having lunch (pack it and carry it with you; obviously there are no golden arches out by the lake) in one of these tranquil spots.
2. Watch Wildlife in Kawuneeche Valley
Ever wanted to watch a moose graze in the middle of nowhere without another soul around? Okay, would watching a moose graze off the side of the road with a few dozen parked cars and gawkers suffice instead? Kawuneeche Valley is a popular spot to see moose, elk, and other animals early in the morning or late in the afternoon, but inherent in that popularity is that it usually means that plenty of other humans will also be around. That’s the downside.
The upside is that it’s popular for good reason, and you are very likely to see wildlife here so long as you get up early or stay out until around sundown (or later). Be mindful of park ranger instructions, as they will often be in the area to ensure that visitors don’t get too close (you’d be surprised by the number of people who seemingly want to be gored by an adult bull moose), park in the middle of the road, or do other stupid things.
1. Hike Rock Cut’s Tundra Trail
With the exception of Longs Peak, Rock Cut is the highest elevation in Rocky Mountain National Park. Whereas Longs Peak is an all-day (at least) hike, Rock Cut is an easily-accessible parking area along the main loop (technically, I believe Rock Cut is the area of road you drive through that was ‘cut’ by blasting). From the parking area, there’s a trail that’s called the “Tundra Trail” or “Tundra Communities Trail,” depending upon who you ask.
This leads to more ‘cut’ rock formations. While this trail is relatively short and looks fairly simple, it is deceptively difficult. This is due to the gains in elevation on it, and because there’s about 35% less oxygen at this elevation than there is at sea level. All of this makes a trail that is only about a mile roundtrip way more difficult than it should be.
With that said, it’s an awesome experience. This truly is tundra, and you’re likely to see marmot and pika along the way. (The latter of which is about the size of a mouse, but makes chirping sounds at humans to defend its turf. Our actual list of the top 5 things to do in Rocky Mountain National Park consists entirely of engaging in a turf war by chirping back at these little dudes.)
The formations at the end are beautiful, and are my pick for the best location in Rocky Mountain National Park to watch the sunrise–unless you’re hardcore-enough to hike to Longs Peak. Given the beautiful 360-degree view, it’s equally good for sunsets, although you’ll have to contend with many other park guests who have the same idea. At sunrise, it’ll only be a couple of other dedicated photographers, as the cold and hiking time in the dark will weed out the casual tourists. It’s an extremely easy hike in the dark, though, and well worth braving the cold for this view.
BONUS: Explore Estes Park
This is a “bonus” item rather than a main one because Estes Park isn’t within Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a gateway town, and is largely touristy. However, it also has its fair share of charm, niche shops, dining, and hotels. Our biggest recommendation in Estes Park is to see the Stanley Hotel. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has a rich history of famous guests, including (supposedly) ghosts. We didn’t do one of their ghost tours, but that would probably be fairly interesting if you’re into that sort of thing.
As far as eating goes, our top recommendation is Rock Inn Mountain Tavern. I had an all-natural, free range bison burger, which was easily the best bison burger I’ve ever had. The place is somewhat pricey for a tavern, but it has a local atmosphere, live entertainment, and a great menu.
We did other things in Estes Park, but nothing else–specifically–comes to mind in terms of things you should do. It’s a charming little city, and definitely worth exploring to see what might appeal to you, personally.
Obviously, there are a lot of other things to do in Rocky Mountain National Park than just what we have listed here. We did several other hiking trails (none of which left much of an impression, although all offered mountain views), and explored the various park roads, galleries, and visitors centers.
In addition to online resources, we’d strongly recommend Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide. Obviously, this focuses on hiking. However, unless you’re doing something niche like snowshoeing or going horseback riding, you really only need a book about the hiking. The rest is pretty self-explanatory or easy to find online. For photography, I couldn’t find anything that blew me away in terms of dedicated guides, but Images of Rocky Mountain National Park turned me onto some good spots and gave me some inspiration, plus, it’s cheap.
Your Thoughts
Where are your favorite places and things to do in Rocky Mountain National Park? Any spots we missed on this list? Which of these would you most like to photograph? Agree or disagree with our selections of the best things to do in RMNP? Any questions? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share any thoughts you have in the comments!
Your post was worth sharing, thanks for sharing.
Wow. Your photos are amazing. I need to take some tips from you.
I was just up in RMNP and Estes last week, and the elk are incredibly active right now. For people up there in 2014 to see the rut, I’d highly recommend trying the upper beaver meadow first. We saw tons of up-close action there: http://flyoveradventures.com/2014/09/9-tips-for-viewing-the-elk-rut-at-rocky-mountain-national-park/
Awesome, thanks for the heads up about that! Looks great!
I just had the privilege of going out to Colorado to photograph my nephew’s wedding, and RMNP was on my list of things to do. Sadly, I was there April 27-May 4, and east edge of Bear Lake Rd was only open for the first 6-8 miles (the west entrance had a similar length open, and middle 40+ miles opened up this past weekend). I wound up going to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge instead, and while it’s NOTHING like RMNP, I did get to see some bison, eagles, rabbits, and very brave and cocky prairie dogs.
I assume it was closed due to snow? Still a pretty awesome assortment of wildlife you were able to see.
Love reading about your national park trips (and seeing the pictures of course). I like Disney, but this is always more “real”. We went to RMNP last September just a couple of days before the floods. One hike that we did was up to Gem Lake, which is about as far as emerald, but seemed a lot steeper. Lots of neat rock formations along the way, totally different than the rock around Bear Lake area. So many places I want to go back and hike to.
One of the coolest things about Rocky Mountain National Park, I think, is the sheer variety of the landscape due to the elevation changes. You have different types of animals, trees, and rock depending upon what elevation you’re at. The diverse National Parks are always the most interesting to me.
Ah, one of my favorite places on the planet.
We did the Emerald Lake hike last year, and it was wonderful.
We like Mills Lake too.
Haven’t been to Mills Lake yet. I’ll have to see what the hiking options are for that. Thanks for the recommendation!
Timely post! We’re headed out west and will visit RMNP at the end of this month for the first time in many years.
Have you hiked any of these trails in the winter months? I’ve read that some ares are still accessible and have a tentative route for us planned out.
For tip #4, I believe that Old Fall River Road is still closed due to flood damage from last year.
The Bear Lake Road trails should be fine in winter. Rock Cut is probably out–the road there will likely be closed.
Yikes–I wasn’t aware of what happened to Old Fall River Road. Just saw the notice and updated the post. Thanks for the heads up!
Have a good trip!
For what it’s worth, we were out there today and the Bear Lake trails were not terribbly passable without showshoes. We made the trek around the lake (walking on the edge of the lake at the far side to avoid the 16 degree climb) and managed, but sank to our knees in snow a few times.
That said, RMNP is still beautiful in the winter. Although I missed doing “real” hiking, with a 5-year-old that wasn’t probalby going to happen anyway. We still managed the flat stuff – Lilly Lake, Sprague Lake, and the Alluvial Falls. Climbing arond on the rocks at the falls was a lot of fun.
Your suggestion for Sprague at sunrise is probably a good one. We were there a couple hours before sunset and I think it would have been prettier in the morning.
Wow, you sank to your knees around Bear Lake?! I can only imagine how much snow was at the higher elevations. I can’t imagine hiking in the snow with a 5-year old–even a mild hike–so kudos for that! Hope you’re having a great trip regardless. I’d love to see some of the photos if you get a chance to post them.
As for Sprague Lake at sunrise, the photos in this post of it are both from sunrise. The sun really lights up the lake and mountains. It looks gorgeous.
We only sank a couple times where we broke through the packed snow, but it was enough I did some carrying of the little one. Bear Lake is ~800 feet higher than Sprague, so more snow makes some sense.
Here are some of the pictures I took: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96151261@N05/sets/72157643286241123/