RMNP was unforgetable! Just when you thought you saw the most beautiful sight imagable and new wonderous one occurs. AWESOME. Staying near the entrance at the Valhalla Resort proved to be the perfect spot for hiking either entrance of tthe park. Clean cabins bordering the park enable shorter hikes after dinner too.

Driving Trail Ridge road takes you to a different world: the high alpine.

The experience takes you above the trees, and even above the clouds. Banks of snow last the year around. Bring warm clothes, as it will go from sunny & warm to snow, hail, & freezing wind within minutes. Lightning is a real danger; be aware of changing weather.

Animals abound: elk, big horn sheep, moose, and marmots. Best to be there early; at sun rise. But any time will offer unique views if you seek them out.

The road is narrow. They are replacing parts of it, so expect construction delays. Allow several hours of travel time. Only open from mid-May to late September (or when the snow closes the road). It can snow anytime of the year, so be sure you have adequate tires.

Remember you are going to 12,000 feet (3600 meters). Take is slow until you see how your body responds.

The best way to see it is as a loop: Estes Park, Trail Ridge, Berthoud Pass. Best camping is on the west side, since it is slightly less crowded.

West Side:
North Inlet Trail (West Side)____________________________________________
Miles: 7 miles out and back
Elevations: Cascade Falls: 8,800
Elevation gain: 300 feet Rating: Moderate
Overview: This beautiful Hike appears mostly level without much gain in elevation. The gain in elevation is very gradual and there is some hiking upwards near the actual falls and there are some other ups and downs - but not much. This hike follows the course of the North Inlet and starts just beyond Grand Lake itself (up in the hills beyond the Grand Lake neighborhoods) the hike travels along the North Inlet and into a spot in the Continental Divide where the river begins.
Objective: Start our trip with a fairly easy, hike into the Continental Divide area from the West side and see waterfalls (Cascade Falls)
Our Hike: We began the hike at 8:00. At the Trailhead, there is a small waterfall/babbling brook. Within a mile, we are at Summerland valley. At Summerland valley, we saw Park Rangers on horseback along with "pack horses." Further into the mountain area, we saw a Moose just off the trail. The trail begomes more wooded and the mountain ranges in each side come in closer. The hiker can really see the mountains close up, even seeing moss on the mountains. This is definitely a very scenic hike. Every once in a while the trail meets up with the river. As we neared the waterfalls, we could hear it. The falls were beautiful. We made very good time on this hike - doing it all in 2.5 hours. WOW... Being done by 10:30 AM.
Conclusion: This is a great hike on the West side of the park, the Cascade falls are beautiful and the trail is fairly level.

Coyote Valley Trail (West Side)____________________________________________
This is an excellent flat easy trail with beautiful scenery. We really liked the Kawuneeche valley that this trail meanders around in. This is a great trail to be done early in the morning (or late in the afternoon) I can see how wildlife would flourish here. In the morning, (6 AM) The mist coming up over the mountains/valley/hills was an incredible sight. This location also has excellent view of the Never Summer Mountain Range and to the other mountains.

Never Summer Ranch (West Side)____________________________________________
We were glad that we took the time out to see the ranch. The half-mile trail that goes to the ranch travels through the beautiful Kawuneeche Valley. In the direction of Coyote Valley, we saw a herd of elk grazing in the far distance. It was great to see what a dude ranch would have looked liked and they did an excellent job maintaining it. Our schedule had us seeing this ranch in the early morning. It would have been interesting to be there when the park rangers give tours of this facility.

On a recent trip to Denver, my two boys ages 8 and 10 decided to take a drive up to see the mountains.

When we left Denver it was a partly cloudy day with temps in the high 50's. The drive to the park was about an hour and a half from downtown Denver. Very scenic and beautiful. It is only 70-something miles, but the road is narrow and twisty.

As we drove north, past Boulder, the weather began to turn nasty and it began raining like a crazy. The temp dropped about 10 degress in a few minutes. Then as we got into Estes Park it began to hail. The hail storm produced hail the size of quarters. The kids LOVED it - they had never seen hail of this size before. My older son opened the window and a piece of hail hit him and he was actually saying that it hurt his leg.

Anyway, once we got to the park, we found that the road that we wanted to drive on was still closed due to excessive snow. It is set to open in June. BUT there was still plenty of road to drive on so we headed out towards Bear Lake.

The amount of Elk that we saw were unreal. They were right by the road and so close that the boys could almost touch them if they dared to put their hands out of the window - which of course, they didn't do. There were elk babies and males...hundreds of them. An awesome sight,.

Anyway, we stayed about an hour or two as it was pouring and cold. It would be nice to go and see the park in the summer when the weather was better and the road was open. I think we will certainly go back should we find ourselves in that area again.