You know how much we enjoy exploring National Parks. We recently added Rocky Mountain National Park to our list.
Exploring RMNP was a little different than other parks since we had Daisy with us because she was too young to be left for a long time. Dogs are not allowed on any trails inside the park so no long hikes for us.
We decided this was a good opportunity for puppy socialization and made the best of it. We took turns and only did short hikes. We did the same at two stores with each of us chatting up the rangers while the other was inside. While this wasn’t ideal, we understand the rules and had a fun day anyway.
We were staying in Granby and entered the park through the Grand Lake Entrance Station. We arrived early because we wanted the parking pass for Bear Lake.
We headed straight for Bear Lake; it was a beautiful drive that climbed over Milner Pass and up to and past the Alpine Visitors Center. I’m glad we did it this way because the parking lot was already full and we had to circle the lot a couple of times to get a spot. It was much worse when we left.
We hopped out and walked to the trailhead. I stayed with Daisy while Mark walked around the lake. He returned in record time and it was my turn. I took longer, both because my legs are much shorter than his, and I stopped for pictures. I love lakes with pine trees down to the water, they are so different than ours with tall saguaro, high desert walls and bighorn sheep.
We stopped at Sprague Lake to let Daisy out in the shade at a picnic table. I took a quick walk along a portion of the Sprague Lake Trail. I watched a group getting a fishing lesson. We probably would have walked the entire trail if Daisy wasn’t with us. My quick walk was pretty enough, though.
Moraine Park had great views of the mountain peaks and reminded me of the big meadows of Yellowstone.
From there we headed toward Alluvial Fan for lunch. I stayed with Daisy at the picnic table where we practiced her “place” command and Mark made quick work of the trail to the cascade. A family asked if their kids could pet Daisy which made for a good socialization lesson.
The Old Fall River Road was a fun way to get to the Alpine Visitors Center. It’s a narrow one-lane road that’s only open in the summer. You knew we’d take it!
We stopped at Chasm Falls for my waterfall fix. An extra treat was the view back down into the Endovalley. There was still a decent amount of snow as we got closer to Mount Chapin. Snow in July means waterfalls.
The Glacial Cirque near the Alpine Visitors Center were snow capped with little cornices. Mark likes to ski the cornice at Mammoth. There was a little spot off the road where we stopped for a picture with Daisy with a great view and wildflowers nearby. We hung out while Mark hiked up the trail. She sat patiently waiting for him. He got some great shots from the top including a heard of elk.
Daisy was allowed outside at the Alpine Visitors Center, yeah. There was another herd of Elk along the ridge at the Visitors Center, far enough to be viewed safely from the parking lot/building where we stayed.
We marked the map to return to Rock Cut and Mushroom Rocks as we were hustling over to the Bear Lake. The parking lot was still busy, not jammed like it was in the morning. There were lots of people on the paved trail so I stayed in the truck with Daisy. Mark walks a lot faster than me; we watched him weave in and out of the people as he made his way along the trail. My request as he left was to take a lot of pictures. He snapped some good ones!
The Mushroom Rocks stand about 16 feet tall and dot trail. He said the Trail Ridge Mountain Index was “super cool” giving mileage to 13 National Parks from that very spot.
We stopped by the Holzwarth Historic Site on our way back. It was Mark’s turn to stay with Daisy as I wandered into the miner’s cabin. It’s wild how strong and resilient settlers were. They survived the harshest Colorado conditions. I like that the national park system saw fit to save it for us to see.
We’ll be back, hiking sticks in hand, when Daisy is old enough to hang out in the RV longer. We still want to hike to one of the Colorado River Headwaters sites.