Finally, a post about one of our favorite places from our Colorado vacation! The first day of our visit we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park and we loved it! After a not too terribly long car trip from Denver, we started our Rocky Mountain National Park time in Estes Park.
After some lunch there, we ventured into the National Park by way of Trail Ridge Road. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I can certainly tell you it wasn’t this!!! I’m mean, I figured there would be a few snow capped peaks and some snow on the ground, but this was incredible! As we climbed higher and higher, we desert dwellers couldn’t believe our eyes (or the temperature)! Truly amazing!
This biology nerd was delighted to be in an ecosystem I’ve never experienced before: tundra (in this case true alpine tundra). We were actually above the tree line!
There are numerous scenic lookout points and a few places to actually park & walk around. This was our first stop:
We continued on to the “top of Trail Ridge Road” and stopped off at the Alpine Tundra Visitor’s Center.
Look at all that snow (in July!)!!
In addition to the breathtaking views, we were delighted to see some wildlife up very close, like this yellow-bellied marmot and these elk! Incredible!
We LOVED our drive on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park! The only downside was not having even more time there! I highly recommend that you check it out if you live in the area (we couldn’t believe that some of our family members there had never been) or if you’re visiting the Denver area during the summer! Beautiful, educational, and relatively inexpensive (just one park entrance fee per vehicle)–it’s a MUST see!!
Have YOU been to Rocky Mountain National Park?
