Rocky Mountain National Park

A few days before our road trip, we learned that a massive mudslide near Glenwood Springs had closed down I-70 indefinitely. This meant that we would not be able to do the hike we had reservations for at Hanging Lake. It also meant a detour was required to get to our next destination - Rocky Mountain National Park. Mapquest wanted to reroute us into Wyoming, but instead we chose to take some smaller back roads from Steamboat Springs to Estes Park. It was a beautifully scenic drive and we were so happy we didn’t choose the faster interstate through Wyoming!

We arrived in Estes Park at midday and the first thing we saw as we drove into town was the Stanley Hotel. There were elk grazing all around the hotel property. We walked around the grounds both inside and out and enjoyed a drink on the grand front porch.

The Stanley Hotel - The inspiration for Stephen King's book, The Shining.

The staircase of The Stanley Hotel

Enjoying the front porch of the hotel.

There were elk grazing all over the grounds of the hotel.

We then drove to our condo, the Aspen Winds, to get checked in. We were very pleased with the condo’s location right along Fall River and just a few miles to the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. After dropping our luggage at the condo, we headed for the RMNP visitor center and then on to the Bear Lake Corridor to do a few small hikes (Bear Lake Trail and Sprague Lake Trail).

Sprague Lake

A selfie along the Sprague Lake Trail.

Taking it all in.

The second trail of the day took us around Bear Lake.

The next morning was an early one - we set our alarms for 3:45am so that we would be inside the Bear Lake Corridor before 5am at which time the NPS requires a permit to enter (which we did not have). We made it to the parking lot of the trailhead for Glacier Gorge Trail which would lead us to Sky Pond. It was still dark outside, so we dozed in the car for an hour or so until it was light enough to begin our hike. The hike past Alberta Falls and Loch Vale was beautiful! We arrived at the Timberline Falls which required us to scramble up a challenging 100 foot section. At the top of the Falls, we reached the Lake of Glass which was not glassy at all because of wind! We continued on to our final destination - Sky Pond which was breathtaking! We didn’t stay at Sky Pond too long as it was quite cold and windy at this elevation (10,900 feet above sea level). The hike back down was gorgeous as the sun was higher in the sky and the wind rustled through the Aspen trees all around us. Although the Sky Pond hike is a long one (9.2 miles round trip) it was definitely the highlight of RMNP for us!

This big guy was snacking on the lawn as we left the condo to head into RMNP for the day.

The trail was not too crowded this early in the morning.

In front of Alberta Falls

We heard "Go Blue" many times from fellow hikers since Jim wore his Michigan hat.

Loch Vale

We saw a marmot along the way.

You can see the Timberline Falls that we climbed way in the distance of this picture.

Can you see Beth in front of the large boulder in the center of this pic?

Getting closer to Sky Pond.

Timberline Falls

We made to Sky Pond!

Looking back at where we had already hiked.

Loch Vale on our return.

After the morning hike, we enjoyed a shady picnic spot along a picturesque river before setting out to drive the Trail Ridge Road stopping at many scenic overlooks. This road took us to the Alpine Visitor Center where a short path put us at over 12,000 feet in elevation. 

Our lunchtime view

Climbing from the Alpine Visitor Center up to the Alpine Ridge.

The visitor center looks small behind Jim!

Overall, our visit to Rocky Mountain National Park was great! Next up...a few long days of driving through Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana in route to Ohio to see Beth’s college sorority sister.