Since we spent the whole summer in Estes Park last year, we were able to repeat some of our favorite hikes, including this one, more than once. I just went back and reviewed my post from last summer when we did this hike for the first time on June 4th. There was much less snow last year, despite it being almost a month earlier. You can see that post here if you’d like to compare. 🙂
Continue reading
In late August 2018, a long-time friend of Jerry’s, Pete, and his wife Cathy came to visit us in Estes Park from the DC area. Pete and Jerry had visited the Estes area 40+ years earlier, so it was a bit of a nostalgic visit for them both. We were so grateful to have so many dear friends and family visit during our time in Estes Park…hopefully sharing our experiences there ensures those visits will continue during our 2019 stay as well! 🙂
Yes, folks, another post about Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), one of the most spectacular parks in our very spectacular National Park System. This time I have a story about a hike that started out mild and ended up wild! As usual, this hike took place a couple of weeks ago, on August 9th. We thought some of the summer crowds might be dissipated due to school starting in some areas of the country, so we headed off to the most popular trailhead in the park, Bear Lake, where you can access no less than 10 magnificent hikes. Warning: This is a long post with tons of pics. 🙂
As I have said several times about Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), despite being here in Colorado for THREE months (!), we never tire of the park and all its many incredible features! Today I will tell you about a lovely summit hike (just over 10,000′) that is only 6.9 miles from our campsite, Deer Mountain. I am still trying to catch up the blog; this hike was completed on July 31st.
As I type this post, in early August, we are beginning to notice hints of fall in the Rockies, although the crowds in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) still scream of summer! 😉 Today I will describe a hike on July 24th, a Tuesday, where we got an early start which allowed a peaceful and uncrowded hike up to Twin Sisters Peak, but then we encountered the masses going up as we headed down in the early afternoon. Yes, it was a long hike!
Since the summer season is in full swing in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, we have been trying other options for hiking to avoid some of the crowds. We have had several recommendations for Kruger Rock, another nearby mountain summit with spectacular views, so last Tuesday, we headed east on US 36 to the Hermit Park Open Space, home of Kruger Rock.
We continue to enjoy our stay in the Rocky Mountains, even more than we could have imagined! We certainly keep busy, between working our camp host or camp store shifts, socializing with co-workers at the campground, checking out Estes Park, hiking, biking, and getting out there to see more of Colorado in our free time.
Yup, more Trail Ridge Road! Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is so vast and so incredible, and changes with the season, the time of day, the light, the weather, etc., that I will continue to write about it…probably as long as we are here!
Ok, no, I never tire of Rocky Mountain National Park, and Trail Ridge Road in particular. As proof, I offer the previous two installments about this topic. 😀
If you’d like to see what I mean, you can go read Part I, or Part II, or even this post about the fabulous trio of lakes we hiked recently. It is all spectacular, you really have to see it for yourself! But until then, I humbly offer my take on this paradise for your viewing pleasure.
This post is a follow-up to a post on May 27th which covered the eastern part of the scenic crown jewel of Rocky Mountain National Park, Trail Ridge Road (AKA US 34). That post covered Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park to the Alpine Visitor’s center, about 25ish miles. If you’d like to know some of the history and details about this amazing road, you can go back and read that post here. This post covers a bit of the eastern portion again briefly because my sister and her friend were visiting and we had to show them some of the highlights! 🙂 Then we carry on to the western region of the park on Trail Ridge Road.
curvyroads 