Overview

Hype:

Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The main features of the park include mountains, alpine lakes and a wide variety of wildlife within various climates and environments, from wooded forests to mountain tundra. The park is one of the most visited in the National Park System, ranking as the third most visited national park in 2015. In 2019, the park saw record attendance yet again with 4,678,804 visitors, a 44% increase since 2012. The park has a total of five visitor centers with park headquarters located at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center.

Time:

Fees: Park Entrance

Recommended Ages:

0-3
4-11
12-19
20-49
50-69
70+

Recommended Months to Visit:

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Features:
  • National Park
  • Shopping
  • Potable Water
  • Waterfalls
  • Rivers and Streams
  • Lakes and Reservoirs
  • Mountains
  • Restrooms - Flush
  • Road Access is Paved
  • Access Road is 2WD Accessible
  • Interpretive Signs
  • Viewpoint, Overlooks, Vistas
  • Hiking Trails
  • Wildflowers and Vegitation
  • Wildlife and Birding

Links: https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_National_Park

Getting There

Navigate to 40.366439, -105.581117.

Maps

Closest City or Region: Colorado

Coordinates: 40.366439, -105.581117

Interactive Guide Map

Download Guide Map

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Printable Maps

Rocky Mountain National Park Map 1

Brochure

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July 27, 2020 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Cooper Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye,

Story

Because of Covid-19, we had to reserve a time spot to enter Rocky Mountain National Park. Our reservations were for 10:00. It took a little longer to leave in the morning than we thought, and we stopped at the Fall River Visitor Center on our way, so it was close to 11:00 by the time we reached the entrance station. Our van went through fine, but somehow when Ondy made the reservation she didn't click enough OK buttons, and she never actually completed the reservation, so they weren't able to enter the park. We made a U-turn and regrouped at the Visitor Center to reformulate our plans. We ate a picnic lunch on the tailgate while we looked up some activities in Estes Park, then half the people went to Rocky Mountain National Park while the other half drove back to the Airbnb and either napped or watched Netflix. They were concerned about runny noses and coughs and possibly having Covid, so Ondy, Killian and Madi got tested. 

Those of us in the Park drove down to the Park-n-Ride and caught the shuttle to Bear Lake. We then hiked up to Emerald Lake along with approximately 1 million other tourists. I'd hate to see how crowded it gets when they don't have restrictions on entrance. After our hike, we caught the shuttle bus back and drove back to the Airbnb, arriving for a late dinner.

Pictures