Estes Park – Page 9 – rocky mountain tot

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.

Rocky Mountain Tot Goes to Bridal Veil Falls

Rocky Mountain National Park’s Bridal Veil Falls is located in a more remote area of the park. The land was once a cattle ranch and was converted to a destination dude ranch before the park service purchased the land in 1988.

From the Cow Creek trail-head it is a 3.2 mile hike to Bridal Veil Falls.

The trail meanders along the creek.

When you get 1.2 miles into the hike you can split off to go to destinations like Balanced Rock or Gem Lake. We will keep this in mind for future hikes, but for this one we kept on our original path.

It definitely feels like an old John Wayne movie out in these parts!

Until we cross over the creek and into the woods.

Wait, where did the trail go!?

I’m pretty sure this is not the 20 foot waterfall we were looking for.

But, that’s okay our little dudette was pretty tuckered out.

We will have to try this one again. In the mean time if you are interested in hiking to the falls, I recommend reading this helpful post from Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails.com. Good luck!

Snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park

On New Year’s Day, my husband and I decided to try something new and rented snowshoes in Estes Park, Colorado.

We started out at the Bierstadt Lake trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park and climbed uphill 1.3 miles to the frozen lake and back down. The views were gorgeous the whole way!

The snow was pretty packed in, so I don’t know if snowshoes were 100% necessary. We saw several people in them and several people with micro-spikes like these.

winter hiking gear

I’m a total novice and thought I would be very cold because the temperature was only 22 degrees. I started with long sleeve Under Armour shirt (similar), a long sleeve t-shirt, a Northface fleece jacket, a waterproof winter jacket, Under Armour cold weather leggings, athletic pants, two pairs of wool socks, a hat, gloves and waterproof hiking boots.. Once we got moving, I took off several layers.

Speaking of heating up – sunglasses are essential because the snow makes the sun even brighter and for me it’s easy to forget drinking water when it’s cold, so I had to remind myself to drink up. We didn’t bring sunscreen, but I think it would be a good idea next time along with chapstick.

snowshoeing

This past summer, we went to the same beautiful lake via Bear Lake trailhead with our daughter Cecilia. Since this was our first time snowshoeing, we decided to be extra cautious and get a babysitter (my amazing sister). We saw a couple on the trail with a baby, and learned snowshoeing isn’t much different than walking, so I would definitely consider taking her on future snowshoe adventures.

Even though I love hiking with our little one, I have to admit it was fun going on a snow day date with my husband! Here are 7 more Romantic Things to do in Estes Park.

Walking in a Windy Winter Wonderland

This weekend we headed to Estes Park, Colorado for a quick getaway before the holiday season officially begins.

We bundled up and went on a walk around Lily Lake (one of our favorite kid friendly spots).

The temperature wasn’t too cold, but we were immediately blasted by strong, frigid winds. For the first five minutes I wanted to quit, but I’m glad we toughed it out! Soon we were shielded from the wind by trees and Cecy took a nap on her Daddy’s back. We added (less than half a mile) by hiking the Lily Ridge trail for views of the frozen lake with Estes Cone and Longs Peak as the stunning backdrop.

We also took Cecy on her first sledding adventure with a trip to Hidden Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The valley used to be a winter ski destination, but now families use the slopes for sledding. It’s pretty steep for a 1 year old, so we took turns sledding with her down the hill. We also took a couple of turns for ourselves. I forgot how much fun sledding is!

We bought our sled at the Warming House, an outdoor adventure store in Estes Park.