Rocky Mountain National Park, colorado
Attractions Guide

Rocky Mountain National Park is centered around one of the most gorgeous natural areas of Colorado, located with the grand Rocky Mountains range, just west of Denver.

This area features countless hiking trails, many of them venturing up to pristine glacial lakes within the densely forested mountains past beautiful streams and waterfalls. You're also very likely to see wildlife such as deer, moose, and mountain goats within these vast forests.

Driving through Rocky Mountain National Park is a very scenic experience, especially along the section of Highway 34 between Estes Park and the Alpine Visitor Center. Along this road you'll find several amazing viewpoints, the best being the Many Parks Curve Overlook, Rainbow Curve Overlook, Forest Canyon Overlook, and the Gore Range Overlook, listed in order from east to west.

Near the last overlook is the Alpine Visitor Center, where you should walk the short 0.6 mile (1 km) round-trip Alpine Ridge Trail for more excellent views.

Prospect Mountain & Gem Lake

From Estes Park you can take the Aerial Tramway up to Prospect Mountain for exceptional panoramic views over the area. Nearby is one of the national park's most popular hikes, the 3.1 mile (5 km) round-trip Gem Lake Trail which concludes at a beautiful little lake surrounded by rugged rocky cliffs.

Sprague Lake

On the way to the Bear Lake Area you should stop to admire Sprague Lake and the incredible scenery that surrounds it. The lake also offers a 0.9 mile (1.4 km) round-trip loop trail encircling it where you can take a peaceful walk.

Many of the trailheads for Rocky Mountain National Park's most popular hikes can be found just southwest of Estes Park along Bear Lake Road (near Bear Lake).

Alberta Falls

From the Glacier Gorge Junction Trailhead along Bear Lake Road you can walk 1.6 miles (2.6 km) round-trip to another of the park's most beautiful waterfalls, Alberta Falls.

The Loch & Sky Pond

You can extend the Alberta Falls hike into a longer and more challenging 7.7 mile (13.5 km) round-trip hike if you like, which features incredibly gorgeous alpine lakes along a stunning valley, via the Glacier Gorge Trail. This route is the highest-rated longer trail in the national park and includes Alberta Falls, as well as The Loch, Lake of Glass, and the Sky Pond lakes. This trail has an elevation gain of approximately 1,700 feet (520 m). Toweing above Sky Pond you can admire the stunning Sharkstooth Mountain ridge.

Alternatively you might hike past the waterfall to the first lake (The Loch) for a round-trip hiking distance of 5.4 miles (8.7 km), however the full route is highly recommended.

Dream Lake & Emerlad Lake

The most easily-accessible lake trail that still offers magnificent scenery can be reached from the nearby Bear Lake Trailhead at the end of Bear Lake Road. This is perhaps the park's most popular hike, the Emerald Lake Trail, which passes by several gorgeous lakes including Dream Lake and Emerald Lake.

Along this 3.1 mile (5 km) round-trip hike you're also surrounded by many majestic mountain peaks and picturesque scenery. You might also consider adding on an additional alpine lake, Lake Haiyaha, for a round-trip hiking distance of 4.9 miles (7.9 km). Be sure to also see Bear Lake which sits at the trailhead.

Hiking Option to Combine All Lakes

You might even consider combining the entire Emerald Lake Trail with the entire Sky Pond Trail and Alberta Falls, for a round-trip hiking distance of about 10.6 miles/17.1 km (11 miles/17.7 km), including the small spur trail to view Lake Haiyaha. This route passes some of the most beautiful scenery and lakes that the national park has to offer.

Lily Lake & St. Malo's Chapel

South of Estes Park along Highway 7 (near the town of Allenspark) you'll find Lily Lake, surrounded by striking mountain peaks. Further south along the highway you can stop to admire the lovely Saint Malo's Chapel on the Rock, a picturesque little stone church.

Ouzel Falls

You can continue south if you like to one of the park's most popular waterfall hikes, the 5 mile (8 km) round-trip Ouzel Falls Trail, which travels through a creek valley through dense forests.

Between Estes Park and Allenspark are two of the Rocky Mountain National Park's most popular longer-distance hikes, which both begin from the Longs Peak Trailhead off of Highway 7. This trailhead is for the Chasm Lake and Longs Peak trails, which can even be combined into one very long and difficult hike.

One of these long-distance hikes is the challenging Chasm Lake Trail, which travels high up into the mountains past thick forests to the majestic Chasm Lake, which sits just below the park's highest point, Longs Peak. This trail is approximately 7.7 miles (12.4 km) round-trip with an elevation gain of about 2,500 feet (760 m).

Continuing south along the highway from the Allenspark area are several more great hikes, which are located along the Rocky Mountains but technically outside of the national park.

One of these excellent hikes is the stunningly beautiful Lake Isabelle Trail which involves an easy 4.5 mile (7.2 km) round-trip hike. A more challenging hike a bit further south is the Diamond Lake Trail, which passes lush meadows and waterfalls to arrive at a pristine alpine lake with a round-trip hiking distance of 5.6 miles (9 km).