Hiking the Rocky Mountain National Park - Part I

July 24, 2019

Photos of things to do at Rocky Mountain National Park. Hike Upper Beaver Meadows Loop and drive to Alpine Visitor Center. The drive will gain roughly 4300 feet putting you near 11,800 feet elevation.

For our first day of hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park, we made the 22 mile drive up through Estes Park (famous for The Stanley Hotel which inspired Steven King for The Shining) and on a few more miles to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center to get some hiking tips. We arrived between 9-10am which was too late to get into the more popular hiking spots so we took the recommendation to drive a short distance up to the Upper Beaver Meadows trails to do those and try for the more popular spots like Bear Lake later in the week when we would try and arrive earlier.

Upper Beaver Meadows Loop

Upper Beaver Meadows Loop had very few people on the trail which was nice. Altogether it’s about a 5 mile hike that goes up about 800 feet elevation, so easy to moderate difficulty. We could not believe the amount of downed trees we saw, mostly the result of flooding that happened in years past. At one point, a hiker came jogging towards us on the trail claiming lightning/thunder in the distance so we started to wonder if we should turn back too, but a quick check of our weather app (once we found a signal) revealed we’d only be getting a drizzle. That drizzle happened just towards the end of our return to the car so we timed it perfectly.

Estes Park Visitor Center

Next, we took the car back to the Estes Park Visitor Center where they had free electric car charging so we left the car there to fill up while we had lunch and killed some time by walking along Lake Estes to the marina and back.

Alpine Visitor Center

After a couple hours, our car was fully charged and we went back into the park to attempt the drive to the Alpine Visitor Center which was 26 miles further into the national park and also gains about 4300 feet to put us at 11,800 feet elevation where it’s nearly 40 degrees outside! Our Fiat can go about 90 miles on a full charge and come back on the electric equivalent of fumes. However, when it’s cold and uphill like this, we can expect to go maybe half that before running out of juice. We made it to the top with about 45% charge left, but due to regenerative braking and that it’s nearly all downhill the entire 50 mile return trip to camp (which actually charges the battery more than it is using) we actually made it back with 55% charge left! The drive was well worth it as the views at the peak were spectacular! We even saw some elk and rams in the distance up there.

Looking for things to do in Colorado? Take a look at our Colorado articles.

Our first hike along Upper Beaver Meadows Trail
Our first hike along Upper Beaver Meadows Trail
Penguin!
Penguin!
Lots of fallen over trees
Lots of fallen over trees
The views were beautiful
The views were beautiful
Another one
Another one
Little bit of snow left
Little bit of snow left
More fallen over trees
More fallen over trees
Hiking through
Hiking through
Some bones we found..hmm!
Some bones we found..hmm!
Rain clouds moving near us
Rain clouds moving near us
More orange flowers
More orange flowers
Us!
Us!
We were hoping to see some elk but instead the trail was crossed by a pack of wild turkeys!
We were hoping to see some elk but instead the trail was crossed by a pack of wild turkeys!
Lake Estes
Lake Estes
A whole lot of ducks hanging out at a golf course near Lake Estes
A whole lot of ducks hanging out at a golf course near Lake Estes
A look into the past of what Estes Park used to look like
A look into the past of what Estes Park used to look like
Before the highways existed
Before the highways existed
Another view
Another view
The shadows from clouds were neat
The shadows from clouds were neat
There is still some snow
There is still some snow
Making the 25 mile trek to Alpine Visitor Center which is at 11,800 feet. Go Fiat!
Making the 25 mile trek to Alpine Visitor Center which is at 11,800 feet. Go Fiat!
Some motorhomes even made the trek
Some motorhomes even made the trek
We couldn’t believe this guy biking it!!
We couldn’t believe this guy biking it!!
Another view of the drive up to Alpine Visitor Center
Another view of the drive up to Alpine Visitor Center
The Lava Cliffs Overlook
The Lava Cliffs Overlook
Made it too the absolute top.. after getting a coffee from the Alpine Visitor Center!
Made it too the absolute top.. after getting a coffee from the Alpine Visitor Center!
The view up here was insanely good
The view up here was insanely good
View from the summit down on the Alpine Visitor Center
View from the summit down on the Alpine Visitor Center
Lots of snow on this side.. about 40 degrees outside
Lots of snow on this side.. about 40 degrees outside
On the drive back down, we couldn’t believe somebody made the trip in this!
On the drive back down, we couldn’t believe somebody made the trip in this!

Click on the panoramic picture below to see the larger image

Hiking along Upper Beaver Meadows Trail
Hiking along Upper Beaver Meadows Trail
The top - Alpine Visitor Center
The top - Alpine Visitor Center
Another angle at the Alpine Visitor Center
Another angle at the Alpine Visitor Center
Driving back down Trail Ridge Road we stopped to get a picture of the park
Driving back down Trail Ridge Road we stopped to get a picture of the park

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