Sometimes you only have a day, but there is so much you can see and do in a day. Well, kind of sort of you can get away with it for a day, then you get "Mutiny on the Bounty." It is all about finding balance on the road. Today was one of those days I got away with it with little to no meltdowns. I did get reprimanded by a twenty-year-old, but that is all part of the fun. It isn't an outing in Colorado unless you get a finger waved at you.
I have wanted to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for decades. I had visited Colorado numerous times but not this region of Colorado, but I have traveled via car to the top of Pikes Peak while I was in my twenties. This summer is the summer of cancelations, changes, and compromising; we decided to head outside and drive north to a cooler climate. Our first stop was Boulder, Colorado, which is right outside Denver and around the corner from Rocky Mountain National Park. The park's Fall River Visitor Center is about an hour from Boulder. We took Highway 36, which led us through the ranch and farmland outside Boulder and into Estes Park's mountainside town.
Estes Park is a valley with a lake at the entrance of the park. There is a western-inspired downtown area to walk around. The downtown area was once the center of this small town supplying groceries and hardware, but it has expanded and changed to provide services for those visiting Estes Park. There are art studios, candy shops, and souvenir shops. Yes, the hardware store is still there for the locals. It was nice to see the downtown up and running during the summer of 2020. It is a slow drive through the town with the stop signs and stop lights, but you soon leave and reenter the highway to the park entrance. On the way out, you pass the Stanley Hotel, which the Stanley Steamer automobile's inventor built. The Stanley Hotel is the inspiration for the Shinning. It has been around for over a hundred years and is a nod to the Colonial Revival Architecture with its white exterior and red roof. Colonial Revival reminds one of walking through Philadelphia and Mountain Vernon, where this style originates. At the time, the Colonial Revival style was popular and was welcoming to the eastern clientele that was coming to find relief from various ailments.
As we continue on Highway 36, we first stop at the Falls River Visitor Center. It is right outside the entrance to the park. There is an interactive learning area, rangers to answer questions, and a small souvenir shop inside the visitor center. To the right of the visitor center are a restaurant and gift shop. There are no gas stations inside the park, but there are services in Estes Parks. You can also pick up a Junior Ranger guide book at this visitor center and the other visitor centers. They present your child with a beautiful wooden badge (Yes, adults may participate too). Traditionally, the badges had been made of plastic, but they turned away from this type of manufacturing to present the kids with an etched wooden badge. It is a beautiful representation of the badge and a great keepsake and reminder of your trip. In 2020, they were handing out the badges without proof of completion to practice social distancing. This is not the case for all parks. Each park was determining the route they would take during the summer.
We grabbed our books and headed into the park. This year we had to make a reservation to enter the park, but they have ended that program for the winter. Check the website www.nps.gov/romo/ for updates to see if they reinstate it in some of the more popular seasons to come. We were a little late for our time slot, but they didn't even question our late arrival. This was just a day trip, so we decided to visit the area closest to Estes Park and the Falls River Visitor Center. We had to choose carefully which trails we would embark on with our limited time. We started to drive up and into the park and saw the mountains rising up around us. We passed the Sheep Lakes and turned to the left to pass the West Horseshoe Park. We could see the valley below us as we wound through the lower mountains and headed back down and to the right to explore Moraine Park, Glacier Bay, and Bear Lake. The sun was shining, and the flowers were in full bloom for the summer.
We zig-zagged through the valley and were surrounded by hiking trails that lead off into the meadows and followed along the streams and lakes. We settled on the trail that ran around Sprague Lake. It is a little drive off the main road with a nice size parking lot. There was plenty of places to park, and the hike wasn't overpopulated. This trail is an easy trail that is wheelchair accessible and mostly paved. It is an excellent look at the ecosystem that exists in the lower regions of the park, which are classified as high mountain meadows. It is only a half a mile walk around the 13-acre lake that once was home to a resort. Abner Sprague enlarged the lake in 1915 by damning the far end to increase his guests' fishing opportunities. The resort operated from 1910-1940. Fishing, picnicking, and hiking are encouraged at this location.
There are bridges and boardwalks to follow along the hiking trail. It is well marked and flat. There are wild berries, flowers, geese, and ducks everywhere. The water is flowing through streams with large boulders resting where ever they please. All sizes of pinecones cover the ground, and the long hanging branches cross the path. We kept hunting for the perfect pinecone but left them where we found them after we took pictures. It is against the law to remove anything from a national park. After we finished our stroll around the lake, we headed to find a more adventurous trail.
Further down the road was a parking strip along the road, and this was the parking lot for the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. The parking is minimal at this trailhead, and there is a park and ride system that runs through this small region of the park. So if you find a place to park, you can use the shuttle system to visit the other campgrounds and other trailheads in this area. It runs from Fern Lake to Sprague Lake, and there is a different route that runs from Glacier Basin Campground to Bear Lake.
Fortunately, we found a parking spot at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead and headed out on the trail. Unlike Sprague Lake, this is a well-managed trail, but it isn't wheelchair accessible. You will need to be able to climb stairs and go through narrow passages. There are many more hikers on this trail, and you are continually passing those going in the opposite direction. We were well spread out between groups traveling in the same direction, and there is a point where a lot drop off due to the increased steepness of the climb.
The trailhead is well marked and located in the far right corner of the parking lot. There are restroom facilities at the parking lot. Once you start on the trail, you are surrounded by conifer trees towering over you and ferns blanketing the ground. There is also a stream that meanders past the path. After a climb of about 0.3 miles, there is an opportunity to travel in the direction of Alberta Falls or towards Bear Lake. These two go in opposite directions. Bear Lake heads to the right and seems to be a much easier path, while the Alberta Falls heads left and up a steep incline. We unanimously head to the left towards the falls. This is where most of the hikers drop off and head to the left or head back to the trailhead and the shuttle bus.
As we wind our way up the hill, we pass a bridge that crosses a stream and leads us to an isolated grove of birch trees. Their white bark with black notches pierces the solid green background of pine trees. It makes the forest come alive with light and space. The grove brings a quiet peace with a lowered tree line. As we continue our hike, the terrain becomes rocker with conifer trees clinging to sides in between crevices. The paths are wider through here, and the rush of water surrounds you. The ground squirrels are everywhere as they scamper all around the trail and through the low brush.
After a steep climb and switchbacking through the hills, we came across Alberta Falls. You initially see the bottom of the falls, which is narrow and encourages you to climb over and down large boulders that cover the banks. The water spray is so refreshing after the hike, and the trees remind you of Christmas. The water is swift and violent as it plummets down the edge and around the corner where you can sit and enjoy the view. The height of the falls doesn't seem very impressive, but the water's force has an uncertain, violent nature. We head to the top of the falls to witness the initial descent, and the noise level dramatically increases as we climb and drowns out all the voices around us. There are many people up at the top, and we had to think about our next move to make sure we would be socially distancing ourselves.
The climb down is as beautiful as the hike up, and there was less pedestrian traffic we headed out. Once you hit the peak visitation time between 10to 3 o'clock, the trail clears up. The busiest times in the parks are between 10 am and 3 pm. This was our last experience for the day; we headed to our car and out of the park. It is hard to explain the beauty of the depth of color that is represented on this hike, and we were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day that streamed through the tree line and highlighted the beauty of the forest floor. The mid-summer wildflowers dotted the edge of the streams and the paths. The flowers were reaching up to find any sun they could to create energy to last another day.
Of course, our oldest needed a bathroom break before we could leave. I would definitely bring this up before you head out. As we headed up and out of the valley and the park, we exited through the Beaver Meadows Entrance and past the visitor center. The highway takes you back through Estes Park, which is excellent if you need to fill up with gas or need an extra snack. There are more extensive amenities at this entrance and plenty of space to move around without feeling you have to compromise your personal space.
We will be back to explore more of the park on our next adventure. Even with a one-day trip, we feel like we could experience the park. We learned so much about this incredible ecosystem and environment. It is stunning, and I really appreciate the limited access and need to make a reservation. This may be something that national parks put into place to limit the unintentional damage caused by the sheer numbers visiting the parks. Going forward, I expect to see more of reservation systems put into place.
Know before you go. Check all the latest updates on the Rocky Mountain National Park website. There are so many announcements, warnings, and answers to most of your questions. Always bring water and snacks. Don't forget to pack a simple first aid kit for those little bump and bruises. Make sure you take your kids out for a local hike before taking off on a 3 mile trail. A flat mile walk is a good place to start and the Sprague Lake Trail is a great start. If you have any questions for us and taking your kids that have certain limitations, please reach out to us to learn more at comments@twoweeksayear.com
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