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.
Today I wanted to share a short post about a short hike. Nymph Lake is located in the Bear Lake area of Rocky Mountain National Park. Known for the pond lilies that float on its surface, Nymph Lake is located only a half mile from the trailhead.
Nymph Lake is one of our favorite short hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. You can find more short hike suggestions here. Continue the trail beyond Nymph Lake to amazing destinations including Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, and more.
I’ve been on a search for a better vacation destination for our family than Estes Park, Colorado. Guess what!? I haven’t discovered one yet. The reason why is because Estes Park combines the beauty of the natural world with a lot of family-friendly entertainment options.
The article says that ‘INTJ: Go on a reading retreat at a secluded cabin’. If this is you, Estes Park is perfect because there are a lot of cabins like ours to rent in Estes Park. One of my favorite things to do on vacation is sit by our fireplace and get lost in a good book. I stock up on books when I’m in town at Macdonald Bookshop and Cliffhanger Used Books. Check out my Book Lovers Guide to Estes Park.
For the personality type INTP, the article suggests you ‘Attend your favorite convention, like Comic-Con.’ I used to work at a convention center, so I know there is a convention for every hobby. Some of the hobby conventions held in Estes Park include the Craft Spirits Festival, Bigfoot Days, and Wool Market which are held at Estes Park Events Complex. There is also a large Scottish-Irish Highlands Festival at the Estes Park Fairgrounds.
INFP types should ‘Connect with nature, like going on a quiet forest retreat’. Estes Park is located next to Rocky Mountain National Park. There are countless opportunities to connect with nature in the park. However, because this is such a popular tourist destination, you’ll benefit from venturing to the park during off-peak seasons such as winter and spring. If you go during summer months, avoid holiday weekends, get up early, and go hiking further than most fellow hikers (over 3 miles). One of my favorite spots to connect with nature is the Calypso Cascades in the Wild Basin.
The article says ISFP types should ‘Take a trip to the beach’. Based on the articles description (‘love spending time with a few favorite friends and hobbies’ + ‘often like to be creative and to explore new places’), this is the personality type I most relate to. One of the things I struggle most with Estes Park is that I feel like I’m going to run out of new places to explore if we keep going back every year. That’s why I often come up with ‘food adventures’ on our trip. For example we went to all the Asian restaurants in town to figure out which we liked most. We also did a Cinnamon Roll Showdown and searched for Estes Park’s best bowl of chili.
Finally, INFJ types should ‘Have “creative space” at an Airbnb in a new town.’ For these types I recommend going on a relaxing stroll along Estes Park Riverwalk. First stop at Kind Coffee whose mission is to ‘Promote the sustainability of our environment through the sales of certified organic and fairly traded coffees’. Next step into one of the town’s numerous art galleries. This summer I’m excited to check out Joy House, ‘a store made up of gifts that are all made by friends with special needs or disabilities.’ You might also enjoy spending time in Rocky Mountain National Park sketching or photographing the incredible mountain landscape and wild animals like elk or moose that frequent the area. For tips check out local photographer Erik Stensland’s new book, ‘The Photographers Guide to RMNP’.
Outside my office window the snow is falling here in Arkansas. Between rising COVID cases and the weather, we are feeling a little stuck. I’m choosing to embrace staying at home by enjoying some chili and watching football with my husband this afternoon. And since it’s a long weekend, I hope to drink some tea by our fireplace and finish my book club book too.
I’m eager to get started with our adventures for 2022, but in the spirit of rest and reflection, today I’m excited to look back at the top 3 posts of 2021. We made such fun memories this year.
Top Post – staying at the lodge at golf shores state park
We typically write about hiking in Colorado and Northwest Arkansas, but this year I also included a review of our trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. It turns out, we were not the only ones drawn to the ocean this year because Staying at The Lodge at Gulf State Park was our top post! Reading it again makes me want to go back right now.
Lodge at Gulf State Park
Runner up: mount magazine cabins: staying at the highest point in arkansas
Our second most-read post was Mount Magazine Cabins: Stay at the Highest Point in Arkansas. Mount Magazine is just two hours south of our home in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The cabin we rented had a wraparound deck where we could take in the amazing views of the Petit Jean River Valley. Plus, a hot tub!
Mount Magazine Arkansas cabin
third place: a winter hike on long’s peak trail
Our third most popular post from last year was written by my husband about an amazing winter hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. The pictures from his post, A Winter Hike on the Long’s Peak Trail are beautiful. We attempted to repeat this hike in December, which I wrote about here Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park.
More Popular Posts and Pages in 2021
These pages and posts have been on our site for a while but continue to be popular.
Finally, I want to wish a happy birthday to our youngest daughter who will be turning 5-years-old this month. It’s hard to believe, but when I started writing about our hiking adventures on this blog she wasn’t even born yet.
If you ask Evy, she will say that she prefers ocean to mountains, but when she is in Colorado her favorite activity is to play in the snow. Her favorite hike is Lily Lake and her favorite thing about our cabin is ‘it’s beautiful’.