A Simple Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park

This simple Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park is perfect for a day trip to do some light walks (or one larger hike) and visit the main viewpoints. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the highlights of America’s national parks. Covering 415 square miles, it boasts gorgeous lakes, majestic mountains, and serene meadows. The park offers over 300 miles of hiking trails and ample opportunities for wildlife viewing, including bison, moose, and more.

You can visit Rocky Mountain National Park as an overnight trip or a day trip from Denver or nearby cities and towns. The biggest town near the park is Estes Park. It has a charming mountain vibe, though it leans a bit toward the touristy side. Instead, you can hide away at a cabin near the park.

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Before You Go

Closures

Be sure to check the National Park website to see if there are any restrictions when visiting. There can be fire bans in the summer or road closures throughout the year, especially with snow.

Timed Entry

Timed entry reservations are required to enter the park during certain parts of the day. Sometimes you can get around this by entering before the park officially opens, which I did once during COVID times because we did not get a timed reservation. So instead, we just got up super early!

National Park Pass

You’ll need a National Park pass to enter Rocky Mountain National Park, which can range from $30 to $70. For a day visit, you can purchase a standard pass for $30. If you’re staying for a week, you can pay an extra $5 for a total of $35, giving you 7-day access just to Rocky Mountain National Park.

However, if you plan to visit over multiple days or go on a road trip to other national parks across the U.S., it’s a good idea to plan ahead and order an annual park pass. Make sure to do this a month before your first visit, as it takes two to four weeks for the pass to arrive. I’ve done both—some years, I bought an annual pass, while other years, I just paid the entry fee for a day visit.

Parking

The park can get increasingly busy over the summer, especially on weekends, long weekends, and public holidays. While trails usually have adequate parking, during these peak times you might need to park in a large lot and take a shuttle to the hike you plan to do. It’s a bit of a gamble. Sometimes I drive up to the parking lot to see if we’re lucky enough to get a spot. If the car line starts to look long and it’s backed up, I immediately park in a shuttle lot.

Check the shuttle routes here.

Shuttle from Estes Park

If you don’t have your own car, you can take the free shuttle from the Estes Park Visitor Center. Daily routes can change, so please check the website for the latest information. The per-person entry fee is $15.

Tours

If you’re visiting Denver and don’t want to deal with a rental car or buses, check out this tour that also includes timed entry reservation, park entry fee & professional photography. This tour has an open-air jeep like a safari! Starting in Denver with this tour, you can stop at the Stanley (the hotel used for the movie, The Shining), go to the park, and have lunch included.

What to visit in Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park is humongous. My grandparents live in Boulder, just 40 minutes away, and although I can’t count how many times I’ve visited the park, I usually do the same couple of things (and love it). This guide to Rocky Mountain National Park is a combo of light walks and driving to see the highlights in the park.

A Simple Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park

The best place to start is the Bear Lake Trailhead. From here, walk around Bear Lake, then complete the short trail to Dream Lake and then to Emerald Lake.

Then, get back in your car and drive on Trail Ridge Road. It’s the highest road in the United States that’s continuously paved and it’s the highest you can get to by driving in the park, at an elevation of 12,183 feet above sea level. Stop at the different viewpoints and the summit.

Follow the orange highlighted section below for the driving loop. The Alpine Visitor Center has a mini cafe and gift shop.

Thank you to my grandparents for the best route to take!

At the top check out the chipmunks and other animals.

Then, when you drive down from the Alpine Visitors Center, stop along some of the Colorado River views like around Colorado River Trailhead,  Timber Lake Trailhead, and Holzwarth Historic Site.

Lake Loop Hike

If you crave a long hike continue on from the Bear Lake Trailhead for an 8-mile loop around the surrounding lakes.

Start at Bear Lake.

Then, hike to Dream Lake on the way to Emerald Lake.

And then hike to Lake Haiyaha. We literally had tiny chipmunks climb over us as we were eating our granola bars. I felt like Snow White!

The trail is great!

The Loch…

And finally hike to Alberta Falls, before making your way back to the Bear Lake trailhead.

You can easily make this hike longer by heading to Lake of Glass or Mills Lake as well.

We hiked from 9am-2pm in early October and it was magical.

Sunrise Spot

If you enter the park before it officially opens, head to Alpine Visitor Center for sunrise.

Where to stay around Rocky Mountain National Park

Staying in a cabin is the cutest way to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. These typically range from $150/night to $400+/night depending on how large the cabin is. Prices also vary between high and low seasons as well as weekend vs weeknights.

Most lodges are on Route 34,  between Estes Park and Rocky Mountain NP. Bring groceries from town for your breakfast and make sandwiches for lunch to eat in the park.

My family used to spend summer and winter weekends at McGregor Mountain Lodge. They had two resident moose on site, which always made the visit special. The cottages range from sleeping 4 people to 12 people. It’s especially magical during the Christmas season.

Please enjoy these old pictures from my family archive in the winter of 2016

More recently, I stayed with my siblings at Castle Mountain Lodge. And I also like the look of the Inn on Fall River & Fall River Cabins.

The Stanley Hotel is famous and was the shooting location for the Stephen King movie, The Shining.