Estes Park – Page 19 – rocky mountain tot

Lily Lake Loop on a Snowy Spring Morning

Last week we took a last-minute family road trip to Estes Park, Colorado with our two-year-old, Cecy and our two-month-old, Evy. On the second day of our trip we woke up to snow and decided to go to Lily Lake, which is one of our favorite places in Rocky Mountain National Park. We love it so much that we named Evy – Evelyn Lily after the lake and nearby Lily Mountain. Hopefully when she grows up she thinks that’s cool and not completly corny!?

We pulled on the layers and (mostly) enjoyed the big, white, fluffy flakes. Cecy rode in the sled for part of the .8 mile hike.

And on her Daddy’s shoulders for the rest.

While little Evy enjoyed cuddling all warm next to me in our Ergo carrier. You can see the snow was really accumulating quickly on my hat!

We were the only (crazy) ones on the trail and it felt pretty magical.

We spotted a few ducks swimming in the cold.

Based on the weather forecast we were surprised when we ended our hike that it was still snowing and that it had snowed so much. The roads were pretty slippery on the drive back to our condo.

Lesson learned!! Next time we’ll check cotrip.org. They have a camera setup right by Lily Lake to show road conditions.

According to the Spring 2017 edition of RMNP newspaper, Spring is the snowiest season in Rocky Mounation National Park. ‘On average, some of the biggest snowstorms of the year happen in March, April, and even May. Be prepared.’

Besides checking road conditions, you can also check trail conditions at go.nps.gov/RockyTrailConditions.

The Pool: Evy’s First Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park

This was a great first hike for our little Evy. She slept the whole way – snuggled in warm against her mamma.

Last week we made a crazy, last-minute decision to take a trip to Colorado with our toddler and newborn. They did great on the long drive to Estes Park which makes me optimistic about future trips as a family of 4.

We decided to hike to The Pool which is one of our family’s favorite 2-4 mile hikes. The lower elevation was great for me because I haven’t done a whole lot of exercise since Evy was born in January and also great for my husband who had to carry our growing toddler. We started our hike at Fern Lake trail head in the Moraine Valley.

We walked through a few patches of snow and some areas that were a little wet and muddy from melt, but overall the trail was in good walking condition.

We spotted this waterfall which seemed to be the culprit for some of the sogginess.

1.2 miles into our hike we arrived at the always-impressive Arch Rocks.

Eventually our two-year-old Cecy negotiated with her dad to get out of the carrier. She was carried over jagged rocks that we were afraid she might slip on.

She walked a good distance too! She got tripped up on a rock, but made a quick recovery.

We stopped for a snack which made everyone happy.

1.7 miles into our journey along the Big Thompson River we made it to The Pool.

If you cross over the bridge, the trail will continue on to Fern Falls and Fern Lake.

This was a great first hike for our little Evy. She slept the whole way – snuggled in warm against her mamma.

We love our girls and can’t wait to take them on more adventures in RMNP!

Riding High in New Kid Carrier

On our most recent trip to Colorado we were excited to try out our new kid carrier for a hike up to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.

After renting packs for our last few trips, we decided to buy a Deuter carrier from REI (similar).

Cecy enjoyed the view riding up high. She seemed very comfortable and there was more space between her and my husband so they didn’t get as hot. We also bought a sun roof and rain cover for the carrier (similar) which will come in handy this summer.

The Deuter carrier came with a little stuffed bear which we nicked named ‘buddy’.Overall, I think this is going to be a great investment for family hiking adventures.

Toddler Self Guided Tour of Sprague Lake

We took a quick weekend trip to Estes Park, Colorado last weekend to celebrate my husband’s upcoming birthday! His bestfriend staid with us for part of the trip, so my husband got some good ‘guy-time’ hiking in while I took Cecy on a mommy-daughter hiking adventure around Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The weather was perfect, the scenery was gorgeous and we enjoyed taking our time to explore every rock, puddle and log along the half mile loop.

At 8,688′ of elevation, there was still a little snow melting on the path in a few places.

Cecy loved running across the wooden bridges that cross marshy areas.

She climbed on the smooth boulders that rest off the trail.

Several wooden benches line the path which are great for taking a snack break or just sitting down to enjoy the mountain views. These are also great spots for family photo ops!

A park sign points out the peaks you can see from Sprague Lake on the Continental Divide: Half Mountain, Thatchtop, Taylor Peak, Otis Peak, Hallet Peak, Tyndall Glacier, Flattop Mountain and Notchtop.

I cherish this special time with my little hiking buddy.