5 Days in Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
- The Wandering Warmacks
- Nov 11, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 2, 2024
Over August 2022, we hiked our hearts out in Colorado. We spent part of our week in Rocky Mountain National Park, and a couple days with our friends in Colorado Springs. This impromptu trip (literally planned 2 weeks in advance) was one of the highlights of our summer, and probably our second favorite adventure we've ever gone on together. We don't know if it was the spontaneity or experiencing our first "big" U.S. National Park, but we truly felt like we were living our best life up here. Check out our itinerary below:
Day 1: Arrive in Colorado + Hiking on Bear Creek Road
We did the majority of our driving on a Friday night, getting as far as we could across Kansas. With a few mid-morning stops, we arrived in Rocky Mountain in late afternoon and headed to our first campsite. We ended up tent camping in 3 different park campgrounds and 5 different sites. These reservations book up months in advance, so we were lucky enough to even snag the last few dispersed spots available! Camping also came with a huge perk in that it didn't require additional timed entry.
Our first campsite at Aspenglen was my personal favorite. While it was a little further away from the trailheads, the serenity and amount of site space were worth it. We could hear the peaceful creek running all night long.
After setting up camp, we took the Park and Ride (free shuttle that runs through the park) up to the Bear Lake trailhead. Since we were running out of daylight, we checked out some easier trails. We hiked to Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes, respectively. This out-and-back trail was around 3.5 miles and a great hike for all skill levels.
Nymph's seasonal lily pads covered the lake and the water's reflection was lovely. Dream was picture-perfect and is probably the most popular lake in RMNP. All 3 lakes were really beautiful, but we personally enjoyed Emerald the most. We loved the dark teal water and the encompassing glacier. We stopped briefly at Bear Lake before heading back to camp for the night (0.5 mile paved loop, not pictured).
Day 2: Hiking on Bear Creek Road + The Stanley
Taking down & packing up camp into our Corolla (stuffed to the ceiling), and eating to-go breakfast in the shuttle parking lot would soon become our daily routine. Since we didn't accomplish as much as we'd hoped to on Saturday, we headed back to Bear Lake trailhead to hike to Lake Haiyaha. We were fortunate enough to witness mint green water, unlike anything we'd ever seen. Sediments from a recent avalanche caused this drastic change, so keep in mind, the color in our photos are from a rare event. The lake was bright and vast, and truly a unique gem.
We took an easy 1.2 mile hike to Alberta Falls afterwards. With lack of planning, we ended up passing this 2 more times on other hikes. Oh well! This beautiful flowing waterfall was surrounded with evergreens and rocks, and is another popular point of interest in the park.
After setting up our second campsite at Moraine Park, we spent the evening having drinks and walking the grounds at the Stanley Hotel. We didn't participate in a ghost tour, but it was still cool to experience the history surrounding this famous hotel.
Day 3: Sky Pond + Alpine Visitor Center
This was our most exhausting, yet most exhilarating day. We decided to tackle the challenging ~9 mile hike to Sky Pond. This was Hunter's bucket list hike at RMNP. Hiking next to a waterfall sounded amazing, but also intimidating. The trail could get slick at any moment, depending on the time of year and current weather conditions. Luckily, we had the perfect, dry summer day.
We started on the Glacier Gorge trailhead - the majority of the trek was a typical, moderate hike with flat path. We passed a couple points of interest (Alberta Falls & The Loch) along the way. The trail was full of lush greenery and dazzling lakes, making the long distance worthwhile. After about 4 miles in, we reached Timberline Falls. This 100-foot waterfall was everything I hoped it would be and more. We had the most unbelievable 360 degree view from the base.
Not so surprisingly, we were greeted by a small line of hikers of all ages waiting to climb. The rock path was like very steep, narrow stairs with a couple twists and turns. My short legs struggled to reach a bit, but with the directional help of Hunter and strangers, I made it up just fine. The worst part for me was actually getting down - not even ashamed to admit I had to sit and slide down most of the way.
At the top of Timberline, we were welcomed by Lake of Glass. A very short distance away marked the final destination of Sky Pond, sitting at an elevation of 10,900 feet. We were surrounded by gorgeous jagged peaks, and we spent quite a while just resting and taking in the scenery around us. Both lakes were equally beautiful.
We spent nearly the entire day on the Sky Pond journey, and our feet ached. We rewarded ourselves with pizza, burgers, and free beer samples at Estes Park Brewery. We then set up camp for another night at Glacier Basin.
After taking a long while to relax, we still had a glimmer of adventure left in us. We couldn't handle much more physically, so we decided to take a sunset drive on the Trail Ridge Road (you can start from Estes Park or Grand Lake). Driving at this time of day was nothing short of magical. This offered incredible alpine views - two of the best stopping points are Forest Canyon Overlook and the Alpine Visitor Center.
Forest Canyon is an easy stop off that doesn't really require any walking and was a great viewing spot for elk. The Alpine Visitor Center is the highest elevation visitor center in the National Parks System. You can choose to walk around the shop & the parking lot, or take the 200 step staircase to the top of the mountain. It is slightly more strenuous than it looks and can certainly knock the wind out of you, but offers insane views. Make sure to take it slow and dress warm!
Day 4: Wild Basin + Wine
We ventured off to a lesser-known area of the park called Wild Basin. The southeast entrance to RMNP took about 30 minutes from the Bear Lake area. This is not a shuttle stop and isn't as well-equipped as the main regions of the park - there were limited facilities and parking, a one lane dirt road, and less signage. However, the crowds were almost non-existent when we started.
We had our sights set on seeing a couple waterfalls on the Wild Basin Trailhead. First up was the Upper and Lower Copeland Falls - we followed a dirt path through the forest and arrived under half a mile. The sound of the flowing water here was so serene! This would make a great morning standalone hike, or a good warmup to a longer trail.
Adding on 1.5 miles, we arrived at Calypso Cascades. The waterfalls definitely got more impressive as we walked on. The water, bridge, and trees were so Instagram-worthy.
To finish it off, we walked another mile to a 40-foot waterfall known as Ouzel Falls. The trail got mildly harder & steeper after Calypso Cascades, but nothing crazy. The view was completely worth it. We climbed on top of some large boulders to have our lunch before turning back around. This 5.5 mile roundtrip hike was an awesome way to spend half a day - we enjoyed taking the trail less travelled by.
During a stop to the convenience store in Estes Park, our eyes were drawn to a winery pamphlet. Since we were already in town, we spent the afternoon at Snowy Peaks Winery. The winery featured an urban tasting room with wine flights (made of their own and other local Colorado wines) and build-your-own charcuterie boards. We had some awesome cheese and tried Buffalo and Elk salamis.
With just a little daylight left, we took an evening hike to Bierstadt Lake. We started from the Bierstadt trailhead, located just off Bear Creek Road. This is a shuttle stop for the Park and Ride - we hadn't seen many people get on or off during our daily route, and I guess we can now see why.
This was a challenging one, especially after already hiking a lot earlier in the day. This 3 mile trail was a winding, steep incline all the way through. All the lakes here are beautiful, don't get us wrong - but in our opinion, the amount of effort didn't equate the reward. However, it was nice having a trail almost exclusively to ourselves.
Day 5: Mills + Black Lake
After hiking more than I ever have in my life, my body was starting to take a toll. Hunter somehow convinced me to go on one last epic hike. Our original plan was just to make it 5 miles (roundtrip) to Mills Lake, but we powered through all 10 miles and made it to Black Lake.
Like many of the other trails, this one also started out on the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Out of all the hikes we endured in this park, Mills would be our #1 recommendation. The lake was expansive and utterly breathtaking. The water's reflection, surrounding mountains, large scattered rocks, and trees were everything. While there were a lot of other hikers, it didn't feel crowded. There were a lot of places to sit and enjoy a picnic or take a break, or walk along the lake's edge.
We followed the path beyond Mills to Jewel and Black Lakes. The journey was very diverse and rugged to say the least. We encountered burned brush, mud, and marsh - but also amazing boulders, small waterfalls, and creeks. We felt truly secluded in this untouched wilderness.
Farewell
We packed up our little sedan with all our camping gear for the 5th and final time. Before heading out to Colorado Springs, we wanted to stop at a few of our favorite spots. We watched for moose at Sheep Lakes and drove along Bear Creek Road.
We also took the opportunity to travel Old Fall River Road. This gravel, one-way road was extremely narrow with switchbacks and no guard rails. Due to this, it's only open for about 4 months of the year. Although slightly terrifying, it was incredibly scenic.
One of the really cool stops was Chasm Falls - this was a whopping 0.2 miles, easily accessible by stairs. The end of the road connected back to the Alpine Visitor Center. We wandered through the sizable gift shop, and took in the mountain tops one last time. Our adventurous week in the Rockies only left us yearning to explore more of the U.S. National Parks.
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