National parks are wonderful places to experience nature, but not ideal places to bring a dog. In fact, according to Rocky Mountain National Park’s website, ‘Pets are prohibited on ALL Rocky Mountain National Park trails, tundra, and meadows.’
Old Fall River road
Pets can go along established roads or in parking areas. The best place we’ve found to walk our dog in Rocky Mountain National Park is up Old Fall River Road when the road is closed during the winter season.
According to the park’s website, ‘During the times when snowplowing operations are not in effect, the road is is open to bicycles, leashed pets and pedestrians.’ Right now snowplowing is taking place Tuesdays to Fridays from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The road is likely to open to vehicle traffic around July 4 weekend and will close for the winter in early to mid-October. The road status depends on the weather conditions.
We parked in the Endovalley picnic area. The loop around the picnic area would also be a nice place to take a short walk with a dog.
ticks in rocky mountain national park
We kept our dog, Sky, on a short leash, but she still managed to walk through brush and pick up a half dozen (or more!) ticks. Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks are mostly found in the spring and early summer.
Chasm falls
We took the dirt road up to Chasm Falls. My daughters and I went down to the viewing platform while my husband hung back with our dog. We didn’t want to crowd other hikers or take away from their experience viewing this impressive waterfall.
According to AllTrails.com, this hike is a total of 4.7 miles and gains 531 in elevation. It is a good choice if you are looking for a bike friendly or dog friendly early season hike.
rocky mountain tot 