Rocky Mountain

Overview

Rocky Mountain National Park straddles the Continental Divide in northern Colorado, with 77 peaks above 12,000 feet, alpine tundra that looks like the Arctic transported to the American West, and Trail Ridge Road — the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbing to 12,183 feet. The park spans from montane forests of ponderosa pine through subalpine spruce-fir woods to vast expanses of windswept tundra where pikas chirp from rock piles and bighorn sheep navigate sheer cliffs. Trail Ridge Road is a 48-mile drive crossing the Continental Divide with pullouts that put you in genuine alpine tundra, surrounded by wildflowers the size of a thumbnail and views stretching 100 miles to the horizon. Bear Lake, at 9,475 feet, is the starting point for the park's most popular trail network, including hikes to Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, and the Flattop Mountain summit. The Longs Peak Trail, a 14.5-mile round trip to the park's highest summit at 14,259 feet, is a challenging scramble that draws peak-baggers from around the country. Elk are the park's most visible large animal, and during the September-October rut, bull elk bugling across mountain meadows at dawn is one of the great wildlife spectacles in any national park. Moose, reintroduced to Colorado in the 1970s, browse willows in the Kawuneeche Valley on the park's west side.

Things to Do

• Drive Trail Ridge Road across the Continental Divide
• Hike to Emerald Lake from Bear Lake trailhead
• Summit Longs Peak (14,259 ft)
• Watch elk bugling in Moraine Park (September-October)
• Walk the Alpine Ridge Trail at the tundra summit
• Photograph Dream Lake at sunrise
• Backpack into Wild Basin or the Indian Peaks Wilderness
• Snowshoe Bear Lake trails in winter

Wildlife

Keep an eye out for these animals during your visit:

Weather & Best Time to Visit

Alpine conditions above treeline with high winds and rapid weather changes. Valley temperatures reach 70-80°F in summer. Afternoon thunderstorms are common June through August. Heavy winter snow.