Rocky Mountain National Park

Tour a 1920's-era dude ranch for a taste of early homesteading and tourism. Buildings are open for tours during the summer. Otherwise, visitors may view the exteriors of the buildings and the grounds. The lodge buildings are reached by a half mile walkway from the parking lot. A walking path connects the various buildings.

(Trailhead is shuttle bus accessible.) A beautiful morning hike, this Lake is situated on top of Bierstadt Moraine giving brilliant views of Longs and the Front Range. As three routes converge on this lake, all of which lead to Shuttle Bus serviced trailheads, this hike can be done many different ways or even tacked onto a bigger venture. Arguably the best route is from the Bear Lake Trailhead to the shuttle parking lot as this stroll is mostly downhill. Walk down, take the bus back up.

This short hike leads to the top of a foothill near the edge of the park that gives a great view of the front range. A 3-mile hike, the trail is really close to the edge of the park which spoils some of the wilderness feeling you can get far inside the park, however the view from the top is more than worth it. The Lily Mountain Trailhead can be found a little ways south of Estes Park along Route 7.

(Trailhead is shuttle bus accessible.) A beautiful tarn in the shadow of Hallets and Flattop, the hike up with take you past three other lakes (Bear, Nymph, and Dream) on route from the Bear Lake Trailhead. Although this trail can get crowded, an early morning start can give you relative solitude on what many people conclude is the best short hike (under four miles) in the park.

(Trailhead is shuttle bus accessible.) Definitely the most crowded hike given its difficulty in the entire park with good reason. The vast number of features along this hike make it a favorite of many with two waterfalls and three lakes surrounded by increasingly shear and spectacular mountains. If there seems to be a lot of people, do not be discouraged. Beyond Timberline Falls the number of hikers reduce, as many are turned away by the short scramble up the side of falls. The Hike leaves from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead and is 9 miles long.

(Trailhead is shuttle bus accessible.) This trail consists of hiking from the Bear Lake Trailhead down to the Fern Lake Trailhead and taking the shuttle buses back. Not only will you not need to backtrack on this trail, it has several optional side hikes such as Spruce Lake that you can take if you are feeling better than expected. Look forward to hiking across some snowfields as the northern flank of Flattop seems to gather a lot of them.

(Trailhead is shuttle bus accessible.) The easiest peak in the park is Flattop Mountain, a round trip up from the Bear Lake Trailhead. Although the route up is spectacular, the summit is less so though making the half-mile walk to Hallett Peak more than worth it. However, even though it is the easiest of the main summits in the park, even Flattop must be respected. People have died on this hike, mostly because they summitted too late and the weather closed in.

One of those destinations which is absolutely assured to make you gasp in amazement the first time you see it. Not only is the Lake itself magnificent the hike up is fantastic as well passing by three major waterfalls and magnificent views. The only question is if you can walk the round trip distance from Wild Basin Trailhead and back.