Our recent Norway cruise triggered our traveling bug and we decided to visit a nearby national park to complete our traveling this year. Rocky Mountain National Park is just a plane ride away from Houston, therefore, we decided to visit it from September 12 to 17, 2022.
The gateway town of Estes Park is about 1 1/2 hours drive from Denver airport. It makes the trip planning pretty easy. We just booked a hotel in Estes Park and a rental car, then it was all done.
It was an 2 1/2 hours flight to Denver from Houston, then another 1 1/2 hours drive to Estes Park. It was painless and we got to Estes Park around 2pm.
Rocky Mountain NP adapted a timed entry permit system and we need to apply a permit to enter the park any time between 9am and 3pm for all areas of the park outside of the Bear Lake Road Corridor. And you must enter the park during your reserved two hours time window. To visit destinations along Bear Lake Road, like Bear Lake, Sprague Lake, and Moraine Park, then the Time Entry Permits System are in effect from 5am to 6pm daily, and you also must enter the Bear Lake Road Corridor during your reserved two hours time window.
We did not get a permit (entry to the park in specific hours) for today. The plan was to get in the park by 9am (no permit needed) and drive through the Trail Ridge Road to Alpine Visiter Center and then to Grand Lake area. The Trail Ridge Road is the major road across the park from east to west. There are many viewpoints along this road for viewing the majestic Rocky Mountain NP. Due to entry permit system limitation, we did not stop at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. We just took upon ourselves to decide where to stop for viewing. We stopped at Deer Ridge Junction, Hidden Valley (just drove through), Rainbow Curve, Forest Canyon Overlook, Lava Cliffs, Rock Cut, Gore Range and finally arrived at Alpine Visitor Center around 9:45am.
We tried to hike on Ute Trail and found it has no trees to provide shade at all, therefore, we just took a photo and moved on to the next stop.
The next stop was Lake Irene. It has a short loop trail around the Lake. It was a very pleasant hike. We particularly enjoyed the reflection on the lake under beautiful sunshine and we took many photos there.
Next stop was Colorado River Trail. Supposedly we should see the Colorado River on this trail. After a halfway of the hike, we did not see any river (except a small stream), therefore, we decided to head back to our next stop. At the trailhead, we ran into other visitors who found a detour to view the river. Therefore, we followed them and found the Colorado River. However, it was a small stream too. Then we realized that this is the beginning of the Colorado River, of course the river at this point is just a stream.
Then, we stopped by the Holzwarth Historic Site for more photos.
We hiked on Coyote Valley Trail and found the same thing of no trees for shade, therefore, we only did a short hike and turned back.
At this point, it was about 2:30pm in the afternoon. We decided to go to Adams Falls in Grand Lake area. Adams Falls is outside of the NP, so we have to exit the park. With the entry permit limitation, we had about an hour to visit it and get back to the park after 3pm (in this area, there is not permit requirement after 3pm). It was an 0.3 mile trail and the waterfall itself is pretty impressive. From nearby viewing points, we can see the Grand Lake in the background.
We had an entry permit for the Bear Lake Road Corridor at 8am, therefore we got there on time to start our visit. The plan was to hike on Emerald Lake Trail (3.66 mi round trip), Bear Lake Trail (0.6 mi lake loop trail) and Alberta Falls (1.2 mi round trip). When we got to the Bear Lake Park & Ride area, there was a big sign saying the Bear Lake parking lot was full, and it suggested everyone to take the shuttle. We followed the advice and got to Bear Lake parking lot area via shuttle around 8:30am. Then, we started our first hike, Emerald Lake Trail.
After a short hike, we saw Nymph Lake. This pleasant lake is ringed by pond lilies and has a nice view of Hallett Peak standing over the lake.
Then, we continued on the trail to reach Dream Lake. The views of 12,713-foot Hallett Peak and 12,324-foot Flattop Mountain from the east shore of this beautiful subalpine lake are simply outstanding. In between the two mountains is the Tyndall Gorge, with the Tyndall Glacier just barely visible from this angle.
After the Emerald Lake trail, we went to Alberta Falls Trail which is 0.6 mile. The trail itself was not as exciting as the Emerald Lake trail, however, the Alberta Falls is very impressive.
We had another 8am entry permit for visiting Sprague Lake Trail. After we got there, it started to rain. However, nothing could stop us at this point. We just put on our rain gear and started this 0.75 mi lake loop trail. It was pleasant, but the rain did impact our adventurous spirit.
After Sprague Lake, the sky was cleared and then we decided to go for the Bierstadt Lake Trail to see the Bierstadt Lake. The trail itself is very interesting with winding trails along the mountain side. On the trail, we had beautiful view of Rocky Mountains with Sprague Lake in the background.
There is a loop trail around the lake, however, it did not give us any indication on how to get close to the lake. With our adventurous spirit, we finally figured it out and got to the lake for many photos.
When we got back to the trailhead, it was about 1pm. Therefore, we drove to Bear Lake again to find a nice spot for lunch. After lunch, we walked around the Bear Lake again.
We went back to the park before 9am again to avoid the need of entry permit. The Alluvial Fan is a fan-shaped area of disturbance in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was created on July 15, 1982, when the earthen Lawn Lake Dam above the area gave way, flooding the Park and nearby town of Estes Park with more than 200 million gallons of water. Enormous boulders were displaced, and trees and earth were ripped from the ground. It has a paved and easy-to-walk trail.
After the Alluvial Fan, we decided to drove through the famous one-way and unpaved Old Fall River Road. It is primarily gravel, one-way uphill and punctuated by switchbacks, slower-paced, 11-mile-long road. In addition, there are no guard rails along this road.
On the way, we stopped by the Chasm Upper and Lower Falls.
Finally we got to the Alpine Visitor Center again. Then we drove to the Hidden Valley to hike on the Hidden Valley trail.
Then we got back to Estes Park for lunch.
In the afternoon, we drove along highway 7 to the Wild Basin area. We got there right after 3pm to avoid the entry permit requirement. It was raining a little bit. We waited a while for the sky to clear. Then we hiked to Copeland Upper and Lower Falls.
On the way back, we were granted with surprises of seeing some animal and a full rainbow.
We also stopped by the Lily Lake for photos.
This concluded our Rocky Mountain NP Trip.
