Rocky Mountain National Park

If you’ve been following along on our adventure, you know that our plans this summer have shifted quite a bit. Instead of heading to Istanbul as planned in April, we ended up in Denver, Colorado a full month earlier than planned.

Having lived there for close to twenty years, it’s a place that feels like home. If someone asked me to picture home, it is what comes to mind. There are so many things I love about Denver. I love the semi-arid fresh crisp air, the access to the great outdoors, the cold summer evenings, the people, my amazing friends, the open-air patios, even the expected unexpected May/spring-snow storms… the list goes on and on.

So an unexpected seven weeks in a city I love wasn’t a bad thing at all. Our first two weeks were spent in our 14-day required quarantine coming from Spain. Fortunately our Airbnb was right next to a nice park allowing many opportunities for socially-distanced socializing with friends. We took advantage and had many picnics and walks catching up with friends. Our last week in Colorado led us into the mountains for some hiking, the best social distancing activity there is!

I love hiking. Like love love love it. My ideal place would have miles and miles of trail with some elevation to keep it interesting. Our original plan wasn’t to spend a week in Rocky Mountain National Park, but I’m so happy with how things turned out. When you see my pictures below, you’ll understand how amazing this park is. (Side note: I'm so excited that if we have the be in the US this summer, that it is going to be spent social distance hiking in the MOUNTAINS! See our updated itinerary here!)

Day 1: Monday funday with one of our favorite families

We were so excited that one of our favorite families went out of their way to meet up with us at the park. Since we knew we would be hanging out with the most adventurous six year old we know, Bear Lake and Alberta Falls were chosen for this escapade.

Being outside is one of my favorite things and exploring a trail with a young girl that has the same passion is a great way to spend the day. Seeing nature through the eyes of a creative, smart, enthusiastic six year old and her ten month old brother is such a joy. I feel so fortunate to be considered “Aunt” Carrie to these little ones.

What I love about this hike: Easy hike with many places to stop for a picnic or rest for little legs. Bear Lake is a perfect loop for exploring with many benches and an interpretative guide that provides natural, geological and historical information for thirty marked spots.

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Day 2: A snowy Tuesday

Tuesday was a true representation of summer weather in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. If you don’t know, Jim hates the cold. I don’t love the cold, but I love hiking in any weather and my tolerance for the cold is much higher.

It amazes me how a cloudy day can completely change the view from the day before. Jim loves me, so even though we knew it would be a snowy, cold hike we set off.

What I love about this hike: There is something special about alpine and sub-alpine lakes in Colorado. On a clear calm day, the reflections in the water can’t be beat. On a cold snowy day, you don’t get the same sense of peace and serenity. The color of the water reflecting the cold, steel-grey sky gives a sense of isolation, reinforced by a deserted trail left practically to ourselves.

Day 3: Wednesday on top of a mountain

We decided after the snowy day hiking we had on Tuesday that we wanted something we knew wouldn’t have a snow covered and muddy trail and was maybe a little bit shorter. A quick search provided a perfect trail: Deer Mountain. It was a busy trail, but not crazy busy. We arrived around 9:30 to share the view at the top with only a handful of other people and the top is pretty spacious for picnicing.

I was hoping to see some elk, deer, or moose in the meadows below as we hiked to the top, but only saw chipmunks and squirrels scurrying around.

What I love about this hike: Views, views, and more views. Although this hike is below tree line, there are views throughout the whole hike. In addition, since this one isn’t above tree line and it’s a pretty short hike, it’s possible to start this one a little later in the morning. No need to get up with the sun and out the door before afternoon storms!

Day 4: Thursday and the best laid plans

What could be better than four lakes and two waterfalls in one ten mile hike? That's what I thought when I decided we should do a point to point hike using the RMNP shuttle system. The last time we attempted a point to point hike in the park was years and years ago. I’m quite sure my mom still remembers it vividly. That time, somehow, no one thought to check if the shuttles were running (they weren’t). Needless to say, it was a longer than planned for hike.

This time, I checked and double checked that the shuttles were running and that we would have no problem hiking from Bear Lake Trailhead to Fern Lake Trailhead along the Fern Lake Trail. Ahh, the best laid plans. Remember how it snowed on Tuesday? The ranger at Bear Lake warned us that she didn’t have a trail report from Lake Helene to Odessa Lake and that it was likely the snowfields were dangerously steep without a good path through. We figured we would head out anyway and see how it looked and play it by ear.

At the higher elevations, there was still a lot of snow. So much snow that we lost the trail a time or two. We eventually made it to Lake Helene and the Odessa Lake overlook, but going towards Odessa Lake, the steep trail combined with significant snowfields resulted in an obvious decision to turn back.

What I love about this hike: I'm sure I would have loved this hike a lot more if we had been able to see all I was hoping to see, but even without traversing the whole thing, the view from the highest point on the hike was spectacular. It overlooks both Lake Helene and Lake Odessa and is a great spot for lunch. The trail wasn’t crowed at all and even the Bear Lake parking lot had plenty of open spots.

Day 5: Friday: above tree line for the vistas

Twin Sisters Peak comes in at 11,428 feet. I was looking to get a little more of a workout in on this hike with some elevation gain. We were finally starting to gain back our high altitude lung capacity (meaning I wasn’t gasping as I walk up a flight of stairs).

The trail is neat because it crosses a huge landslide, a result of the September 2013 floods that damaged so much in the area. It was incredible to see the destruction caused by the rains still evident seven years later. Of course, the view from the top is pretty amazing too with a view of Meeker and Longs Peak on display. It wasn’t even all that windy.

Why I love this hike: Nice solid continuous uphill climb through beautiful forests to a rocky peak. A top large enough to find your own private nook to sit and take in the view.

Day 6: A windy alpine adventure on the Ute Trail

The Ute Crossing Trailhead is off of Trail Ridge Road and is marked by an informational sign about the history of the trail. There is enough room on the side of the road for nine or so cars, but since the hike is relatively short, cars seem to come and go frequently. Trail Ridge road had been closed down from Tuesday’s storm and this was the first day it had opened back up.

I knew it would be chilly since the trail is at 11,430 feet, but I forget how WINDY it always is up there! We didn’t want to get up early this day, but we also didn’t want to be stuck after noon above treeline on a trail that is completely exposed to storms. This was the perfect option: short enough to get a late start, but still an opportunity for alpine flowers and bighorn sheet and mountain goats (and views!). The wind cut the hike a little short, but I was still able to enjoy the alpine blooms. On our hike back to the car we spotted a beautiful elk slowly making his way across the open alpine meadow and snowfields. Unfortunately, no bighorn sheep or mountain goats.

I had one more idea up my sleeve for bighorn sheep spotting: Sheeps Lake. We hadn’t been over to the Fall River entrance to the park and it was still early. Jim humored me and drove over there. Alas, there were no sheep… but we saw not one, but two moose! The bighorns will have wait until our next Rocky Mountain adventure, so for now, I’ll enjoy the moose.

Why I love this hike: Views, wildlife, the prettiest alpine flowers.