Rocky Mountain National Park 10-Tip Guide with Itineraries

By The Back Seat View

The Rocky Mountains are wildly famous, so experiencing this wonder of a national park takes the advance preparation found in this Rocky Mountain National Park Guide. It’s the 3^rd most visited national park, with millions of visitors arriving June through September. Most visitors fly into Denver and then drive the hour and a half north to peaceful paradise. Summer brings beautiful wildflowers, while fall stuns with colorful leaves and extra elk sightings during mating season. Nothing prepares you for the majesty and awe the sweeping mountain vistas deliver. Entering a world with munching moose, silly marmots, and elk encounters is enchanting.

Turn a regular family vacation into a vacation worthy of tradition by avoiding the first trip mistakes using this Rocky Mountain National Park Guide.

1. Book lodging as soon as possible.

• WorldMark Estes Park has log-cabin-style condos near the park entrance. I loved everything about this resort, from the creek running through the property to visiting elk and deer. The playground, pools, and inside of the condos are top-notch.

• This is camping heaven with Spruce Lake by the National Park Visitor Center, Estes Park KOA Holiday, and Jellystone outside the town.
• The National Park has Moraine Park and Glacier Basin Campgrounds requiring reservations online at recreation.gov.
• The Estes Park Resort and Murphy’s River Lodge are excellent options and my second choices.
• The Stanley Hotel is iconic up on the hill with stunning views. Stephen King wrote “The Shining” here, so hotel tours are offered.
• Plan to stay three days or a week to soak in the mountain air and refresh your soul.
• You can also enter the park from the Grand Lake side, but Estes Park is preferred.

2. Take time to adjust to the altitude

• Shop the delightful downtown Estes Park for a day or two.
• The altitude requires a slower hiking pace, double your water intake, avoiding alcohol and caffeine and bring altitude sickness medication.
• Meclizine, Ibuprofen and Tylenol treat altitude sickness.
• Symptoms of Altitude sickness are headache, tiredness, nausea and shortness of breath.

3. Mandatory TIMED ENTRY PERMITS

• Buy permits at recreation.gov for trips May 26-October 22

• The park is divided into two types of timed entry permits.
• You can only hold one $2 permit a day.

1. PARK ACCESS TIMED ENTRY+ BEAR LAKE

• Allows entry to the entire park and hiking the best trails.
• Reservations are required from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. You may enter Bear Lake Road before 5 a.m. or after 6 p.m. without a reservation.
• THIS IS the Permit you want, one for every day!
• Any Bear Lake Permit time available will work!! You can enter the park before 9 a.m. without a permit and do other hikes until your Bear Lake time opens up.
• If you miss your 2-hour timed permit window, re-enter BEAR LAKE at 2 p.m.

2. Park Access Timed Entry Permits

• Allows you to enter half the park that is NOT Bear Lake Road.
• Reservations required 9 am- 2 pm. Arriving before 9 a.m. and after 2 p.m. does not require a reservation.

Permit Tips

• On MAY 1^ST AT 8 AM, Park Access + Bear Lake Road timed entry permits and Park Access permits are released for May & June. On June 1^st, July’s permits are released.
• SCREEN SHOT YOUR RESERVATION TO ENTER THE PARK!!
• The permit is valid for all the people in one car.
• Have a recreation.gov account set up, be logged in, and pretend this is a Black Friday shopping fight. It’s you against 15,000 other people trying to get a permit for their family.
• The day before, the park drops 40% of the permits at 5 p.m.
• If you have camping, horseback riding, or tour reservations, you do not need a permit to go into your area.

4. Park Entrance FEES should be paid in advance due to NO CELL SERVICE nearby.

• $35 weekly pass or buy a $25 daily pass
• America the Beautiful yearly pass is $80 and allows you to visit any National Park all year. It takes several weeks for this plastic pass to be mailed to your house.
• A long line of cars is at the entrance, so be organized with your screenshot permits and fees already paid.
• Don’t hold up the very long line to use your credit card with spotty service and asking questions. Questions are for the visitor center.

5. START YOUR HIKES EARLY

• Early hikes avoid crowds and afternoon thunderstorms
• Bring a rain jacket and waterproof hiking boots.
• No cell service. You don’t know the storm is coming until it’s BOOMING overhead.
• Wear layers with the day heating up and cooling off quickly.
• Animals move around early in the morning closer to trails and roads.
• We were in the park, starting our hikes by 7 a.m.
• Watching a moose have breakfast will stop any early-rising complaints.
• Pack your backpack with twice the water needed due to altitude-increasing hydration needs.

6. Bring OFF to HIKE

• Bring OFF to hike Bear Lake Road or die by swarms of mosquitos.
• Moraine Park is the valley with elk and deer at the beginning of Bear Lake Road.
• BEAR LAKE is the park’s most popular, easy hike, 0.6 miles around the lake.
• Bear Lake is just steps from the parking lot so everyone can see it.

• Continue on the trail to see Nymph & Dream Lakes for a 2-mile hike. Continue another mile for EMERALD Lake (3.5 miles roundtrip).
• If you are fishing for trout, get your license, bait, and rule updates at the fishing shops in Estes Park.

• Alberta Falls is a popular 2-mile round trip taking 1-1.5 hours and starts at Bear Lake.
• Sprague Lake is gorgeous, handicap accessible, and my favorite sunset stroll.

• Bierstadt Lake is an average of 3 miles with moderate difficulty taking 2 hours. Depending on where you start, it might be 4 miles.
• The Pool by Fern Lake Trail is 3.3 miles, an easy hike taking 1.5 hours to complete.
• Over 15 hiking trails on Bear Lake Road

7. RIDE THE FREE SHUTTLE BUS

• The Park & Ride Transit Hub Shuttle Buses depart every 15-30 minutes.
• You can’t miss the signs telling you Bear Lake Parking is full and pointing you toward a vast parking lot with shuttle buses.
• The average Bear Lake parking lot fills up by 7 a.m.
• If you don’t want to drive in the park, shuttle buses to the park leave Estes Park and the Visitor’s Centers.

8. Drive to the Alpine Visitor Center

• It is 48 miles to the Alpine Visitor Center on Trail Ridge Road.
• The park’s best views are on this drive, which takes half a day.
• It is 30 degrees cooler at the mountaintop,34 degrees in July, so bring coats.
• Highest paved road in the U.S.
• Forest Canyon Overlook is the BEST STOP with views of Long Peak, Stones, Peak, Hayden Gorge, and Gorge Lakes.

• Alpine Ridge Trail is 0.6 miles near the visitor center. Follow the crowds for breathtaking views.
• The Alpine Visitor Center has the best souvenirs and a restaurant.
• There are more pull-off viewing areas than I can count.

9. PLAN YOUR HIKES

• Over 300 Miles of hiking trails in the park
• The visitor centers are packed, and no cell service is available, so download trail maps.
• Realize that the hiking signs at trailheads and paper guide given when entering the park usually give you one-way distances.

West Side Hikes

• After reaching the Alpine Visitor Center, you can continue driving to the West Side of the Park and Grand Lake, 1.5 hours from Estes Park.
• You can fish or visit the Holzwarth Historic Site.
• Hike the Ute Trail to Tombstone Ridge, which rates easy with the best short, 0.7-mile hike to spectacular park views.
• Adams Falls with the 0.8-mile easy trail.

Fall River Road hikes

• Alluvial Fan Trail is a 0.7-mile leisurely stroll to a waterfall.
• Chasm Falls that you can basically drive to.
• Nearby – Gem Lake is 3.4 miles and ends at an alpine lake. It’s rated moderate difficulty, taking 2.5 hours.

10. Safeway is the grocery store

• similar to Publix.
• The lines easily take 30 -45 minutes to check out.
• They have chicken fingers, wings, and meals ready to go.
• Don’t forget the OFF.
• Buy nuts, granola bars, and high-protein snacks.
• Buy a couple of gallons of water to stay in the car to refill bottles.
• Domino’s delivery is an easy dinner.

Get outside to enjoy your vacation!

Visit my Colorado Road Trip for more Rocky Mountain National Park Guide information.

Sample Itineraries

Options for Day 1

• Give yourself time to adjust to Colorado’s altitude by shopping at Estes Park.
• Check in with lodging, then do the Bear Lake to Emerald Lake Hike from 4-8 p.m.
• No Bear Lake Permit, hike Bear Lake to Dream Lake at 6-8 pm.
• Only have one day, then Hike Bear Lake to Dream Lake at sunrise and drive the Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center.

Options for Day 2

• Drive Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center for half a day.
• Hike Alberta Falls on Bear Lake Road in the afternoon. Remember, you can re-enter with any Bear Lake Pass at 2 p.m.

Options for Day 3

• Hike on Bear Lake to Bierstadt Lake or The Pool by Fern Lake.
• No Bear Lake Access passes, then hike Fall River Road with Alluvial Fan Trail, Chasm Falls and nearby Gem Lake.
• Afternoon shopping Estes Park
• Sunset at Sprague Lake on Bear Lake Road

Options for Day 4

• Visit the West Side of the park for Grand Lake with fishing, Adams Falls, Coyote Valley Trail and the Holzwarth Historic Site
• Go Fly-Fishing
• Go on a White-water rafting tour
• Visit Open Air Adventure Park in Estes Park for zip-lining, axe throwing

Go, Fall in LOVE with the Rocky Mountains!