It took longer than expected at the RV Shop (about 3 hours!) because we noticed the new refrigerator was really wobbly when the slide out was in; so they had to try to brace it better. It was starting to get dark when we arrived and by the time we were finishing setting up, we had to turn outside lights on. It’s definitely nicer to set up in broad daylight!
We stayed three nights at the Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort, spending two days in the Rocky Mountain National Park and the second evening in downtown Estes Park. We had been to RMNP once when the kids were young, but it’s definitely worth going back multiple times — It’s so pretty! The campground was only about 5 minutes from the Beaver Meadows entrance, so super convenient. The timed entry passes definitely helped with crowd control. As we were leaving the park after 2’ish (when the pass is no longer required), the line of cars waiting at the entrance was really long. Both mornings when we arrived, we only had a few cars in front of us.
The first day, we mostly drove around, getting out at overlooks and doing a couple of short hikes. I downloaded the GuideAlong app and purchased the Rocky Mountain National Park tour, which we enjoyed listening to as we drove. We stopped at the Alluvial Fan, then at Chasm Falls while driving up the one-way, dirt Old Fall River Road to the Alpine Visitor Center (the highest visitor center in the US). We never got tired of looking at all the awesome scenery along the way. It was crazy windy at the top, but thankfully not too cold. We packed a picnic lunch and ate it in the visitor center while enjoying the view. Then we hiked up “Huffers Hill”. It was only about .6 mi round trip, but had a 200 ft elevation gain up to 12,000 ft, so it lived up to its name and made us huff a bit. It was so worth the effort, though — especially with the close up view we had of several large elk hanging out at the top. Then we drove back down via the Trail Ridge Road and enjoyed even more overlooks.
We had a timed-entry pass for the Bear Lake Corridor on the second day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until noon and it was calling for thunderstorms around 2pm. A sign said the Bear Lake parking area was full, so we parked at the Park & Ride and rode the shuttle to the Bear Lake trailhead area. When we got there, we saw at least 7 or 8 empty parking spaces, so I guess they don’t really monitor the parking lot very closely. If we were to go back, we’d drive to the end to that lot first, then just drive back to the Park & Ride if needed. The shuttle was fine, though, and we only had to wait about 10 minutes each way.
Once there, we grabbed our rain jackets and followed the 2 mi trail (4 miles out and back) past Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake. We figured we could turn around at any time if the weather got too bad, but despite the thunder that started about a mile into the hike, we made it to Emerald Lake with no rain. All of the lakes were super pretty and there were a couple of bonus water falls along the way, too! Definitely a nice hike. As we were leaving Emerald Lake and heading back to the trailhead, it started to drizzle. Fortunately, it never got heavy though, so I’m glad we didn’t let the potential thunderstorm scare us off. When we got back to the trailhead, we walked just a little ways to get a good view of Bear Lake, but didn’t walk all the way around it.
The shuttle dropped us back off at the Park & Ride, then we drove to Estes Park. Since parking was kind of tight around town and we weren’t sure how crowded it would get, we decided to park at a central location and walk around town. After getting an ice cream treat at Hayley’s Ice Cream, we walked to The Stanley Hotel for the ghost tour. It would have been nice to have the electric bikes for going up the large hill to the hotel, but the half mile walk wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed seeing the hotel, since it’s kind of famous in Colorado, with it’s stories of being haunted, but I wasn’t too impressed with the tour. I probably would have preferred just the historical one earlier in the day, instead of the one that focused on ghosts, but we would have needed to stay another night to have time to do that. My lack of enthusiasm could have had something to do with being so tired of standing, too.
After the tour, we walked to Lonigans Pub and Grill for dinner. While waiting for our food, an elk was walking around just outside the restaurant. Randy went outside to video it, and also panned around to the sign advertising elk burgers, which I had just ordered. <doh! Sorry elk!> Jeremy made we laugh when he asked if the restaurant was similar to Red Lobster, where you can pick out your own elk for them to cook and serve. No complaints on the food, but the restaurant was very warm and stuffy and our waitress was hard to understand.
We walked along the Riverwalk to get back to the truck; it was a cute area that ran behind the shops and restaurants. It was calmer and less crowded than the sidewalks in front, which was nice. After another quarter mile of walking, I was glad to be heading back to the RV. Even with the crowds (which were probably not at their peak), Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park are worth a visit! Gorgeous display of God’s creation, for sure!!
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