best hikes in rocky mountain national park

Honeymoon Hike and Other Things I’m Looking forward to in Estes Park, Colorado

Okay, it’s not actually our honeymoon -we’ve been married for nine years (go us!) and we will have our kids with us on our upcoming trip to Estes Park, Colorado. However, we have an awesome sister willing to watch our kids so that my husband and I can go on a hike together. This is really rare for us, so we are thrilled.

The last time we went on what I call a ‘honeymoon hike’ was in July of 2019. On that trip we climbed through Timberlane Falls to get to the spectacular Sky Pond.

Sky Pond will be hard to beat. The hikes we are considering for our next adventure include Black Lake, Sandbeach Lake, Chasm Lake and Mt. Ida.

Black Lake

Mills Lake is one of my favorite hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park and it is on the way to Black Lake which makes this destination very appealing. Beyond Mills Lake we would pass by Jewel Lake and Ribbon Falls. The hike is right under 10 miles in length which is ideal for me. My husband is happy to hike up to 20 miles, so we will need to compromise on the length. The biggest negative is that the hike is located within the Bear Lake corridor which is the most popular area of Rocky Mountain National Park. Timed-entry permits are required for entry between 5am to 6pm in this area. The permits go fast, so we haven’t been able to obtain one yet. That means I need to wake up really early to get there before 5am, or we can hope to get one of the limited permits that are held for purchase the day prior at 5 p.m. through recreation.gov.

I found a great description of the hike to Black Lake on rockymountaintrails.com.

Sandbeach Lake

‘Bring your beach towel, sunscreen, and a good book, as this is a great place to enjoy both the mountains and the beach well away from the busy crowds to be found elsewhere.’ says local photographer, Erik Stensland, in his RMNP hiking guide book. Stensland rates this hike as strenuous at 8.7 miles round-trip.

The Sandbeach trailhead is located in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. This area is typically much less visited than the Bear Lake corridor which means we’d have some flexibility on arrival time. Reservations are required before 9am in this section of the park. I’m a big fan of sleeping, so this is a major benefit for me. My husband doesn’t mind waking up ultra early to reach a peak at dawn. If I want this hike to be our top-choice, I might have to pack a can of local lager for him to sip on this mountain beach. Cheers!

Chasm Lake

My husband hiked near Chasm Lake this winter. Because of the snowy conditions, he didn’t go the whole way, but he went far enough to know that this hike looks amazing. This 8.8 mile hike is rated 5 out of 5 stars on Alltrails.com. It features a waterfall. Recent hikers called it ‘stunning’, ‘challenging but worth it’, and a ‘quintessential Colorado trail’. Reviewers suggested to bring bug spray and arrive early because the parking lot gets filled early (5am) by hikers going up to Longs Peak.

Mt. Ida

‘Hands down this is the best hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. The views from the summit are simply epic.’ It’s hard to ignore this recommendation from rockymountaintrails.com. Besides the epic recommendation, another positive for this hike is we wouldn’t need the Bear Lake corridor pass. My only hesitation is the trailhead is at Milner Pass which is a further drive (an hour) from our cabin in Estes Park. However, I bet the early morning drive over Trail Ridge Road would be beautiful. We would want to get an early start because this hike is above tree line. I don’t want to be caught up in an afternoon thunderstorm. Speaking of weather, according to the 10 day forecast we have a 50% change of scattered thunderstorms. We will be keeping our eye on the weather and hope for clear skies.

Rain Plans

If it rains, my backup plan is to enjoy a romantic breakfast date at Claire’s Restaurant and Bar and stroll around Erik Stensland’s art gallery which opens at 10:00am in downtown Estes Park.

estes park bucket list

vacation rental in estes park colorado — View from our new home away from home at Solitude Cabins

Besides the hike with my husband, I’m looking forward to adventures with my sister-in-law, having fun with our girls, and even enjoying a little self-pampering during our upcoming trip.

My sister-in-law loves to go shopping, so I’m excited to browse some of the shops along the Riverwalk. Some of my favorite shops include Trenz at the Park, Macdonald Bookshop, and Mary Jane’s.

Our girls (ages 4 and 6) have never played mini-golf, so I think this could be a fun time to try it out. There are several mini-golf spots to choose from in Estes Park. I also want to take them to Penelope’s World Famous Burgers and Fries for a sundae treat.

For ‘me-time’, I’m looking forward to getting my hair cut at Glow Salon and Spa. I also love to catch up on my reading list on vacation. I’m bringing Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, and Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.

A New Year’s Eve Getaway in Estes Park, Colorado

Standing under the evergreens on our snowy hike up to Nymph Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park filled my heart with gratitude and relief. Just a few months ago, we were anxiously watching the news and hoping that the wildfires would be contained. Although the damage was substantial, thanks to the incredible effort by firefighters (and perhaps some good luck and answered prayers), Rocky Mountain National Park is open and beautiful.

Here is a map of the Area Closures due to fire damage.

America the Beautiful Park Pass

We bought our annual America the Beautiful Park Pass which covers entrance into national parks and federal recreation lands for the entire family. For us, this is a great deal because we go to the park frequently, plus we feel good about financially supporting the national parks. You can learn more about the pass here.

Details about day passes entrance fees for Rocky Mountain National Park as well as upcoming free days can be found on the nps website.

Nymph Lake

The hike to Nymph Lake begins at the Bear Lake trail head. The journey to Nymph Lake is only .5 miles. Our girls were eager to play in the snow and thrilled that the lake was frozen solid.

Hike to Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Cozy cabin in estes park

I spent a lot of time during our trip sitting next to the fire in our cabin, reading books, and drinking coffee. I read 37 books in 2020 which beat my previous year by 11 books. My 2020 favorites include Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. If you enjoy reading on vacation, check out my Book Lovers Guide to Estes Park, Colorado.

In 2020, COVID-19 made us weary of airport travel. We were also navigating the school calendar for the first time as our oldest started kindergarten. This meant fewer trips to the mountains last year. The positive side is that we were able to rent our cabin to many families who wanted a safe and relaxing vacation spot. We are reinvesting the rental income we earned into a couple of upgrades including new flooring throughout the first level. Learn more about renting our cabin here.

Hike around lily Lake

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve written about Lily Lake on our site. Lily Lake is our favorite destination because it is easy, fun, and family friendly. A trip to Rocky Mountain National Park without a stroll around Lily Lake feels incomplete.

Lily Lake Hike in Rocky Mountain National park — Lily Lake in the Snow

Sledding in rocky mountain national park

Hidden Valley is the only place where sledding is allowed in Rocky Mountain National Park. We have been taking our girls to this spot every year. It is a blast! You can rent sleds and other winter gear at Estes Park Mountain Shop.

Sprague Lake

Sprague Lake is a half mile loop. We enjoyed this hike on New Year’s Day. This felt like a good start to the year even though life remains a little uncertain. Typically, I’m very goal-oriented, but this year (for now at least) I’m not writing a list of goals. I love to hear what other people do to celebrate the beginning of a New Year, so please feel free to share your reflections in the comments below.

Bierstadt Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Our 5 Most Popular Colorado posts in 2020

I always think it’s fun to see what our readers are finding on our site.

Our fifth most popular post was extra sweet. The Best in Estes Park: A Cinnamon Roll Showdown.

The Estes Park Winter Bucket List was the fourth most popular post this year. Although it was written in 2019, the list remains a good one! On our New Year’s Eve trip we checked off several bucket list items including sledding, winter hikes, shopping for a Christmas ornament, sitting by the fireplace with a good book, and swimming at the Estes Valley Community Center.

The Homer Rouse Trail – a Dog Friendly Trail in Estes Park, Colorado and the updated version Homer Rouse Trail – Revisited (written in 2019) continue to be among the most popular posts on our site.

The second most popular post was A Trail Less Traveled: Hollowell Park to Mill Creek Basin in Rocky Mountain National Park which was written in 2019. We returned to Hollowell Park this summer and wrote about it here. The wildflowers were beautiful! If this is a hiking destination you want to try, make sure to check in with the national park service. According to their website, ‘Trails that remain closed in the Bear Lake area include the Fern Lake Trail, Cub Lake Trail, the Mill Creek Basin, and Hollowell Park.’ (as of 1/4/2021).

The most popular post was 7 Romantic Things To Do in Estes Park, Colorado. This post was actually written in February of 2019, but most of the points remain true except that the Dunraven has a new location by Lake Estes.

If you are on pinterest, I’d love for you to check out our profile. I typically add videos on pinterest that aren’t included in the blog posts.

coming soon

I’m going to ask my husband Eric to post his favorite moments from our recent trip too. Some of his pictures are AMAZING. I can’t wait to share them here soon. I’m also excited to share about our latest Estes Park food adventure. A post about our Asian Takeout Extravaganza is coming soon.

Happy New Year!

-Kelly

Hike to Arch Rocks and The Pool in Rocky Mountain National Park

The hike to The Pool in Rocky Mountain National Park is one of our favorite early season hikes. It’s lower starting elevation (8,150 ft) typically means there is less snow than other areas of the park.

The hike begins at the Fern Lake trail head. There is a small non-paved parking area. The road is narrow for two-way vehicle traffic. There is shuttle service and some additional parking .8 miles away from the trail head.

On our late-May hike we enjoyed spotting spring wildflowers, a busy humming bird, and a garter snake.

Arch rocks

40 foot vertical rocks called Arch Rocks are a main attraction along the way to The Pool. The rocks are 1.2 miles from the trail head.

big thompson river

Walking along the Big Thompson River is another highlight of this hike.

The Pool

A wooden bridge crosses over the river. This video shows the water gathering and powerfully flowing into the Big Thompson River. The Pool is 1.7 miles from the Fern Lake trail head. If you turn around at this point, the hike is a total of 3.4 miles. On this trip, we chose to turn around at this point.

Love loop hikes? From The Pool you can split off towards Cub Lake and head back around to the Cub Lake trail head. The final section of the hike between the Cub Lake trail head and the Fern Lake trail head is on a connecting road. This loop is 6 miles.

Fern Falls

Another option to continue the hike is to make your way up to Fern Falls. To hike to the waterfall, you will add approximately 1 mile each way. Most of this section is uphill. If you are up for the challenge, the waterfall is worth the effort!

Fantastic Family Hike to Fern Falls

Fern Falls with a Fussy Baby

fern lake

The name sake of this trail is Fern Lake, which is 3.8 miles from the trail head. It has spectacular views of Notch Top mountain.

The Fern Lake trail head is a launching point to many memorable destinations in Rocky Mountain National Park including Arch Rocks, The Pool, Fern Falls and Fern Lake.

on my mind: Ticks in Rocky Mountain National park

Well, it happened! After five years of living tick free, we found several ticks on my daughter during our most recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, Colorado. We were playing in some areas that had tall grass, so it’s not very surprising, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone who is out enjoying the great outdoors to be checking themselves and their kids. Here is some additional information about ticks found in RMNP.

Make your reservations now: Trail Ridge Road is Open

Trail Ridge Road is a scenic highway that connects Estes Park, Colorado to Grand Lake, Colorado. The road is located within Rocky Mountain National Park, so a park pass and time-entry permit are required to travel on this scenic roadway which will take you above tree-line and into the alpine tundra. Trail Ridge Road opened on June 4, 2020. Here is an article from Estes Park News about the annual ribbon cutting celebration.

New! Visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park can obtain a time-entry permit through Recreation.gov.

Breathtaking Hike to Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Dream Lake is a popular hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. We hiked the trail at the end of May. It’s always helpful to check the park’s trail conditions before selecting a hike, especially this time of year. (Here is the link)

You start at the Bear Lake trailhead which is a hot spot in the park! If you can’t find a parking spot in the lot, don’t give up – the national park has a park and ride shuttle that is free to use once you’ve paid the entrance fee. Routes change with the season. (more info)

Once we unpacked the kids from car, we were greeted by friendly and knowledgeable park staff and volunteers. Don’t forget to say thank you to them for keeping the park such a clean and amazing place – especially the people who have to clean the bathrooms. Bear Lake has several non-flushing toilets available.

The total hike is 1.1 miles each way starting at 9,450 ft in elevation and gaining 450ft. You will cross by Nymph Lake half way into the hike which is a lovely spot.

Nymph is short for Nymphae polysepala the original scientific name for the lily pads that adorn the lake during the summer months. (according to Rocky Mountain National Park – the Complete Hiking Guide by Lisa Foster)

As you continue to climb, the views of the surrounding mountains open up.

Hike to Dream Lake Rocky Mountain National Park

You will pass by a small waterfall which is a great spot for a family picture (if your kids cooperate)

Young Families in Rocky Mountain National Park

Here is a view from the top.

pretty scenes in Rocky Mountain National Park

We were excited for the opportunity to play in a little snow right before Dream Lake, but had to use extra caution because it was pretty slippery in places.