R for Rocky Mountain National Park #BlogchatterA2Z

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

I am biased towards Colorado State and anything in Colorado. So, I can only say positive and awesome things about places in Colorado. :-)

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most scenic national parks in North America, covering 415 square miles. If you love mountains, snow, scenic drives, alpine lakes, waterfalls, wildlife, and hiking, this park is for you.

It is famous for the Trail Ridge Road, a 48-mile stretch connecting Estes Park to Grand Lake. This climbs to an elevation of 14000 ft above sea level. This is one of the highest paved roads in North America.

There are many hikes to see alpine lakes and waterfalls in the park. Boating on Grand Lake is relaxing and peaceful. 

Here is our travelogue for Day 1 and Day 2.

Accommodations Near Rocky Mountain National Park:

Until next time,

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I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z

Other A2Z Posts:

A for Arches National Park

B for Bigbend National park

C for Capitol Reef National Park

D for Disney

E for Escalante National Monument

F for Fort Davis

G for Great Smoky Mountains National Park

H for Hot Springs National Park

I for Idaho Springs

J for Jackson Hole

K for Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

L for Las Vegas

M for Monument Valley

N for Niagara Falls

O for Orlando

P for Pikes Peak

Q for Quiet and Secluded

R for Rocky Mountain National Park

S for Santa Fe

T for Talimena Scenic Drive

U for Utah

V for Vermont

W for White Sands National Park

X for Xtreme Weather

Y for Yellowstone National Park

Z for Zion National Park

R For Rocky Mountain National Park #A2ZChallenge

#Day18 of A2Z Blogging Challenge where I am posting some best places to visit in Colorado.

R For Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park with towering peaks mid of alpine lakes, scenic views, rivers, and wildlife is Colorado's pride. 

Rocky Mountain National Park

Even though this park is known for the famous 48-mile Trail Ridge road and 11-mile Old Fall River road, I also love the hikes to a number of Lakes and Waterfalls. I have never seen so many attractions in a single park earlier. 

Alberta Falls

Some of the must-see places are - The Continental Divide (which is covered with snow even in Summer), the tallest summit in the area - Long's Peak, Trail Ridge Road, Grand Lake, Alberta Falls, Bear Lake, Estes Park (Gateway to the Park), Sprague Lake, Mummy Range, Horseshoe Park, etc.,

With around 300 miles of hiking trails, this park is bombarded with 4.4 million visitors annually. Summer and the Fall are the best seasons to visit.

Read my travelogues on Rocky Mountain National park to know more.

Accommodations Near Rocky Mountian National Park:

Until next time,

Other Posts from A2Z:

A for Aspen
B for Breckenridge
C for Colorado Springs
D for Denver
E for Estes Park
F for Frisco
G for Glenwood Springs
H for Hanging lake
I for Idaho Springs
J for Jefferson County
K for Keystone
L for Loveland
M for Mesa Verde national park 
N for North Cheyenne Canon park 
O for Ouray

P for Pagosa Springs
Q for Quandary Peak



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A 2 day trip to Rocky mountain national park, CO, USA - #Day2

I am sorry that I couldn't post the second part of Our Rocky mountains trip earlier. Here is the Day 1 itinerary.

While we covered Trail ridge road and Grand Lake on the first day, we covered remaining famous places on the second day.

There are many beautiful lakes in Rocky mountain national park which can be accessed by hikes and trails of different difficulty levels. Sky Pond, Emerald Lake, Chasm Lake, Bluebird Lake and Bear lake are some of the lakes which provide excellent views of Rocky mountains from the walking trails. Keeping in mind that we have a 2-year-old who cannot walk long distances without support, we decided on the simple trails.

Bear Lake

Bear Lake
This is the easiest and the most popular trail we can go with kids. It's a 0.6-mile loop around the Bear Lake with beautiful views of Rocky mountains. There are many other trails starting from this area and so, parking is a bit difficult to get. It is better to come here by 8 AM at least. If parking is not available, there is a bus shuttle for travelers. I think it took around 1 hr or less for us to complete the loop. Then, we decided to take the trail to 'Alberta Falls'.

Bear Lake Trail

Views from Bear Lake trail

Alberta Falls
We chose this trail as it was only 2 miles but what we didn't know was that the terrain was not even. It is not a paved road walking trail, it has ups and downs with the trailhead elevation of 9200 ft. We took a lot of time to reach the falls stopping in the middle for snacks and water, but it is worth the effort completely. The waterfalls are amazing. Water is gushing with a great force. Please ensure that you take more water and snacks when you go with kids and it might take more time to reach.

On the way to Alberta Falls

30-foot Alberta Falls

We could complete these two hikes by 2 PM and by the time we had lunch in Estes park, it's 4Pm. Since we had to return to Colorado Springs early, we couldn't visit any other places.

Other places which are worth visiting with kids are Chasm lake, Shadow mountain lake, Lily Lake and Alluvial Fan. Alluvial Fan is a picnic spot with the river nearby. The old fall river road is famous to visit in the Fall season. Old fall river road was closed when we went in June. Estes Lake is also a nice place to boat, fish or just hang out in the evening.

I hope, you liked this itinerary. Do let me know in comments.

Accommodations Near Rocky Mountain National Park:

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Until next time,

This #TravelTale is written as part of Write Tribe Problogger challenge. #Writebravely #WritetribeProblogger.

 I am taking part in The Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Blogging Challenge.

A 2 day trip to Rocky mountain national park, CO, USA - #Day1

The Rocky mountain national park is one of the most visited parks in North America for it's natural beauty. It is spread across the area of around 76 miles protecting the mountains, forests and alpine tundra. Estes Park is the main town to stay and visit the park. The park is famous for scenic trail ridge road and old fall river road.

The trail ridge road 

 This park has more than 300 miles of hiking trails with extraordinary views of valleys, lakes and mountain peaks. That's why 2 days is not enough to walk all trails. Since we traveled with a 2-year-old kid, we had to select good but easy trails.

A view from scenic drive

Our day 1 trip started from Colorado Springs in the morning to Estes Park. We started at around 9 am and reached Estes park by 11 am. There is a queue to buy the entry pass to the park and so, we got delayed a bit. We got refreshed in the visitor center and started our drive on scenic trail ridge road.

Spotted a buck!

The trail ridge road is a 48-mile stretch connecting Estes Park to the Grand Lake. The scenery is extraordinary and the road took us to an altitude of around 14000 ft. The view of snow capped mountains and valleys is breathtaking. The speed limit is around 20 mph, there are many places to stop by and enjoy amazing views. We can also watch continental divide at one viewpoint.

A frozen lake in summer!

We reached Grand lake around 3pm. We took lunch at the visitor center. The Grand Lake is the deepest and largest natural lake in Colorado. We enjoyed boating in the lake for an hour. Children enjoyed the boating and the homemade ice cream near the lake.

Grand lake

Adam's falls is just a few minutes from Grand lake. Since we thought it's dangerous to drive on trail ridge road back with less light, we had to return to Estes park by 5 pm. We reached Estes park by 8pm, had dinner and checked into our rooms.

Grand lake

Thus, the first day is spent more on driving and capturing beautiful views. Estes lake near our hotel room is also great and buzzing with many tourists enjoying the Sunset while biking or boating.

Estes Park is a lovely mountain town. The gushing river flowing along the road in the town is wonderful. Read our Day 2 trip details here.

Accommodations near Rocky Mountain National Park:

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Until next time,