In 2019, we were lucky to enjoy the outdoors as a family both in our new home town of Fayetteville, Arkansas as well as our favorite mountain getaway in Estes Park, Colorado. Writing about these adventures on rockymountaintot brings me a lot of joy. My goal is to provide as much helpful information as I can in each post and hopefully inspire people to check out some of the places I love.
The number of views on rockymountaintot this year quadrupled! Thank you to everyone who took the time to check us out. I’ve compiled the list of our Top 10 Posts of 2019:
Skiing, lakes, national parks, fly fishing – it’s all within 30 minutes of our Granby condo.
Alison
Recently I reached out to my high school classmate Alison (Jolin) Stafford to see if she would be willing to answer a few questions that I had about Granby, Colorado, traveling with kids, and prime ski season. She graciously provided me with tons of helpful tips and is letting me share them here.
Fun for the whole family!
Kelly: We went to high school together, but to be honest, I mostly know you from your exciting social media posts about living life in Colorado with your husband and adorable twins. I’d love to know what inspired you to move to Colorado and what you love most about raising young boys there?
Alison: The mountains brought me west from Kansas City in 2006 for a brief stint in Steamboat Springs. I hopped back to KC to get my Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management at UMKC, then immediately knew I wanted to be back in Colorado. I’ve been in the Denver metro area now for 11 years and wouldn’t change a thing. I’m a nomad at heart, but have delightfully (and surprisingly at times) taken root in Colorado. Raising my toddler twin boys in the outdoors is something I’m very grateful for – as well as my husband. Whether the woods of Northern Michigan or on the water boating around KC, we both grew up loving the outdoors in our respective hometown areas and love that we have an endless array of options for our kiddos to choose from too. We have short road trips often and always find new treasures to explore.
Kelly: There are so many great places to visit in Colorado, what draws your family to Granby?
Alison: The proximity to Granby is a major bonus for us as it’s only 1.5 hours door to door from our home to our mountain condo. Also, we get a lot more bang for our buck while still have ski in/ski out amenities. Skiing, lakes, national parks, fly fishing – it’s all within 30 minutes of our Granby condo.
The breathtaking view from our condo balcony. Views of Grand Lake & RMNP in the distance. 25 min from the south entrance to the park.
Kelly: What are your best tips for enjoying ski vacations with kids? (How early do they start ski school, do you rotate, is there a kids watch area?)
Alison: I can’t wait to start our 2 year old twin boys in ski school, but unfortunately we’ll have to wait until next ski season. Selfishly and shamelessly, it’s one of my driving factors to potty train the little stinkers asap. For now, since we have a ski in/ski out condo, my husband and I take turns throughout the day. Convenience is key (with skiing and life). We’ve also found a great local babysitting service that we use. With the close proximity, we can take some runs down the mountain, have a quick happy hour, then hit the hot tub all in 3-4 hours. It’s perfect!
Main lift at Granby Ranch Ski resort. Day date with the hubs. We have a great sitter through Grand County Sitters.
Kelly: What are your favorite restaurants in Granby/Grand Lake area?
Alison: Easy answers – Tabernash Tavern and also Heck’s Tavern at Devil’s Thumb Ranch. We’ve gone to both as a date without the kiddos and also with the entire family. One of the many reasons we love the area – very family friendly everywhere! Granby is on the brink of a lot of growth and we’re very excited about the new options.
Friends since elementary school girls trip!
Kelly: When I think of Granby I think of skiing, but I know it’s a year-round destination plus it’s close to Rocky Mountain National Park and other National Forests areas. What other outdoor activities do you enjoy with your family in this area? Any favorite hikes you’d recommend?
Alison: We recently rented a pontoon boat on Lake Granby for Father’s Day and it was a blast. Being out on the water is simply breathtaking and there’s a lot of options to stop and take it all in. A HUGE bonus for me is that all of the lakes allow stand up paddle boarding. That is one of my big hobbies and there are sandy banks a’plenty launch off while the fam hangs out, has a picnic or splashes in the water. Hikes will be on the agenda soon, but 2 year old toddler twins makes that a little tricky at this point. My husband is a big fly fisherman so anytime he can get a cast in the water, he’s happy. Luckily we have private fishing access to the Colorado River via our mountain condo at Granby Ranch.
Snow on the ground still means fun in the (heated) pool.
Kelly: How can people stay at your vacation rental? How far out do people need to book? What is prime ski time? Any other tips?
Alison: We love having other families enjoy our home away from home. I personally manage our condo, so you’re always working directly with me for any questions or needs. Bookings and the calendar are current through: https://www.vrbo.com/1219384 I have families that book a year in advance and also availability with short notice at times too. If we aren’t staying there ourselves, I love for others to stay and enjoy. Prime ski time is December (holidays) through early April and they recently built in new snow making capabilities which means MORE SNOW! It’s convenient, not overcrowded, reasonably priced, beautiful and we’ve yet to have a person not fall in love with the area.
Yoga from the Top! Granby Ranch summer Saturday mornings.
Flying out of Northwest Arkansas regional airport (xna) to Denver
Last week we took a spontaneous trip out to Rocky Mountain National Park to play in the snow. It was the first time that I flew out of the airport in Northwest Arkansas. I was impressed with the ease of the small airport. We were able to walk from our parking spot right into the airport. Parking was less than $10/day. We easily found our gate and there were several places to grab a meal or purchase a magazine.
Family amenities at XNA include a giant chess board.
It was also the first time I attempted to fly with both girls without my husband. Since we were flying out of a small airport, the plane we traveled in had two seats on each side. The girls (ages 5 and 2) sat on one side of the aisle, and I sat on the other. Loaded with Kindles and Halloween leftovers, we happily made it through the two-hour flight to Denver.
Ready for take off!
The contrast between the airport in Northwest Arkansas and the busy Denver International Airport was huge. Luckily, I have some experience navigating the Denver airport. We were happy when we spotted my husband waiting for us at arrivals after getting off the train between concourses. With work visits scheduled along the way, he drove out to Colorado on his own, bringing our luggage and vehicle with him.
Hiking in the snow – alberta falls
Once in Colorado, we were ready to get out in the snow. We bundled up our family and headed into Rocky Mountain National Park. We decided to hike to Alberta Falls beginning at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead which sits at 9,180 ft. in elevation.
At this altitude, there was a lot of snow and ice on the trail, so my husband and I both wore Yaktrax on our shoes to help with traction.
Yaktraks on hiking boots help with traction in snow.
The hike gains 220 ft of elevation and is a little under 1 mile each way. Our oldest daughter was able to hike most of it on her own. She did some slipping and sliding, so we were careful to hold her hand in spots we thought might be precarious.
The weather was cold, but since we bundled up and kept moving, we felt pretty comfortable with the trees protecting us from the wind and the sun shining above.
The trail to Alberta Falls is well maintained, even in the snow. This is a very popular trail during the peak summer months. Many times when the Glacier Gorge parking lot is full, we have started this hike from Bear Lake.
We think Alberta Falls is one of the Best Waterfall Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. This was my first time hiking to Alberta Falls during the late fall/winter season. The snow and ice looked like a layer of sparkling white icing on the cliffs and boulders.
Alberta Falls is a powerful waterfall, but on this visit there was little visual evidence. Buried under the snow and ice, we could still hear water rushing underneath.
The trip back down to the trailhead was equally as beautiful as the journey up. I didn’t mind when my daughter frequently stopped to practice writing her name in the snow with a stick ‘wand’ she found, because I could look up and see snow dusted mountains towering in the distance.
The highlight of the trail for the girls was when their Dad slid down the final steep hill with them.
I highly recommend hiking to Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park anytime of year. If you want a quiet hike and a front-row seat to see this landmark, winter is a great time to visit.
If you plan to hike during the winter, make sure to keep an eye on the weather and talk to the helpful park rangers about trail and road conditions. I got the trail stats for this post from one of our favorite guide books, Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide by Lisa Foster.
Kids make trips to the mountains fun in so many ways. However, with two young girls, the number of long distance hikes my husband and I can go on are limited. One of the keys to our vacation happiness, is giving each other time to go on adventures while the other person stays back and plays with our kids. On a recent trip, I was excited that my husband could take my brother on one of our favorite hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park.
I was pretty jealous of their adventure, but not jealous about their alarm clock. They woke up before dawn and started the hike up to Hallett Peak in the dark with head lamps on. Since they arrived so early (5:25am), they were able to find a parking spot near Bear Lake which can be difficult to do on holiday weekends. (we went on Labor Day weekend)
Early start to hike up Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park
Hallett reaches 12,713 ft in elevation. The hike is 10 miles round-trip and involves a bit of class 2 scramble to reach the final destination. From the Bear Lake trailhead, the route follows the easy to follow trail to the summit of Flattop mountain for the first 4.4 miles, passing scenic overlooks of Dream Lake and Emerald Lake (link) along the way.
Sunrise view of Longs Peak from Flattop Trail in Rocky Mountain National ParkSunrise view of Bierstadt Lake and Sprague Lake in the distance from Flattop trailEmerald Lake Overlook
To reach Hallet from the aptly named summit of Flattop, hikers must do a bit of route finding, following cairns off-trail (trying to stay on hard surfaces to avoid damaging the fragile tundra flowers and plants). The route is relatively flat as it skirts around Tyndall Glacier on the left, but then gains nearly 400 feet of elevation in the last quarter-mile scramble to the summit. Its a fun challenge, with minimal exposure to steep drop-offs, though a turned ankle this far away from the car would still be miserable.
My brother hiking to Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National ParkApproaching summit of Hallett Peak
The views from the top are amazing in all directions, from the Estes Valley, to Longs Peak, and even over to Grand Lake and the Never Summer Mountains to the west.
My husband on the summit of Hallett Peak
After snapping a few photos and taking a brief rest, they headed back down the mountain to Bear Lake with a round-trip time of just under 5 hours. I was very impressed that they were back in time for us all to go out to lunch together!
