2022 - Tarns' Rocky Mountain NP Trip: September 13, 2022

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.

The Alpine Visitor Center is the highest facility of its kind in the National Park Service. It has ranger services, gift shop and restaurant. At there, we finally got a chance to talk to a ranger for trail and attraction recommendations. She recommended the Ute Trail right next to the center, Lake Irene, Colorado River Trail, Holzwarth Historic Site, Coyote Valley Trail inside the park, and the Adams Falls in Grand Lake area which is outside of the park.

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.