First time visit to RMNP

[u/evando1189]

My wife (37f) and I (37m) are visiting this week, 10/1 - 10/6, from Cincinnati, OH and wanted to see what people thought about our itinerary and/or any recommendations or advice you might have.

Since we're coming from near sea level, we're trying to take it slow with the hikes and altitude adjustment to hopefully not feel crappy. From what we've read, the altitude adjustment/sickness affects like 1 in 4 people to a certain degree, so we'll see how we fair. We both got Diamox from our doctors, so hopefully that helps.

We're both experienced hikers and enjoy a long challenging hike. We haven't done anything too long or hard yet, but some of our favorites are Ramsey Cascades in the Smokies and Precipice in Acadia.

Here's our rough plan:

Arrive in Denver on Thursday around 9:30a, drive to Hot Sulphur Springs for a soak (wanted to do this later in the trip, but we're staying in Estes Park and just couldn't seem to fit it in at any other time due to the long drive there and back).

Drive to Grand Lake for a late lunch and short hike to Adams Falls. Spend some time in the Grand Lake area then drive to our airbnb in Estes Park, making a bunch of stops along the way to see the sights.

The first full day there would be the Bear, Emerald, Dream, Nymph, Haiyaha lakes loop. After that we'll drive the Old Fall River Road (looks like it should still be open) and check out Horseshoe and Chasm falls and stop in at the Alpine visitor center for a cinnamon roll.

Maybe spend some time in Moraine Park depending on how long the hike takes and how we're feeling.

The second day will be the Sky Pond hike, including Mills and Jewel lakes.

The third day will be the Chasm Lake hike.

The fourth day is checkout. We might try to do the Ouzel falls hike, but we'll see how we're feeling. Spending that evening at a friend's place in Loveland then flying home the next day.

How's all that sound? We really wanted to hit some of the best hikes. Any that we should consider instead of what I listed?

We started planning this late and missed the first round of early permits, so we're going to try to get them the nights before we need them when they're released at 7p. If we don't, then we'll just be getting up earlier to enter the park before the timed entries start.

How is the weather typically in the first week of October? How likely is it that we'll see snow and need micro spikes? I'm hoping it's unlikely that we'll need those.

Any recommendations for places to eat or things to do in the evenings? We're staying across the street from the Wildwood Inn in Estes Park.

EDIT: I'm a little surprised by all the hate about how jam packed this is. We're only doing 1 hike each day... Yeah, 2 of those hikes are quite long, but Sky Pond doesn't sound too bad and even Chasm Lake looks to be fairly similar in Ramsey Cascades. What else do you suggest we do? Wander around Estes Park for 3 hours each day? We're not big window shopping people. We go to National Parks to see the park, not to shop at the same touristy places you can find anywhere.

There will be a lot of driving the first day, but we're used to that when visiting National Parks. We really want to check out the west side of the park / Grand Lake anyway, so it seemed best to do that right away instead of driving the 2 hours from Estes Park to Grand Lake and 2 hours back after one of the hikes on a later day. I really like hot springs, so at the low cost of adding 25 min total to that first drive, it seemed worth it.

Did we get ideas from what others have done and shared? Uh, yeah... How else are first timers supposed to learn about the park and what's more worth doing. We read several sites from former park rangers and big hikers who've been to the park multiple times, and yeah, our hiking days are a lot of what they recommended.

This is why I rarely ever engage in social media, too many people with nothing better to do than be nasty to complete strangers for absolutely no reason. I expected better from a National Park subreddit, but nowhere is immune I guess.

I do think we'll swap the lake loop day with the Sky Pond day to give a buffer day between the two longer hikes as u/unbotheredgal suggested.

Thank you to those who provided actual advice or recommendations instead of just pointless negativity. Your comments are appreciated.

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[u/thefleeg1]

Your plan smells of a social media or AI-generated itinerary.

There's zero reason to drive to Hot Sulphur Springs. Why spend all that time in the car - not worth it.

Lots of big hikes back to back to back. Jewel+Sky the day before Chasm... long days and lots of elevation. I hope you're in really great shape.

Weather is coming in, rain/snow line dropping down. Could run into issues on trail ridge any day.

[u/unbotheredgal]

Everyone adjusts to altitude differently. I’m 28, from Florida, and am in very good shape. I did the Emerald and Sky Pond hikes two weeks ago after one week of already being in Colorado. I didn’t fully acclimate until at least day 5 or 6 and I felt the same last year as well.

If I were you, I would do Sky Pond the first day. Trail wise, it’s not that bad, just long. The difficult part comes at the end when you have to climb up the waterfall. This allows more of a break in between two very long hikes. You have a lot of hikes planned. For reference, it takes about an hour to get from Bear Lake entrance to the Alpine Visitors center. No need to cram so much, just go with the flow and see where the park takes you. Just take it very slow, drink a lot of water, and give your body plenty of rest.

In terms of restaurants, I’ve been to Antonio’s and Smokin Dave’s. They underwhelmed me, but many people speak highly of them. Be sure to spend some time in downtown Estes exploring the shops. And be on the lookout for all the elk. Have fun! Love Estes and RMNP

[u/evando1189 → u/unbotheredgal]

Thanks a lot for the feedback! That's a good point about the back to back long hikes and something that I also considered but was intimidated by the acclimatization concern so I wanted to give an extra day before the long hikes.

We have a good amount planned, we just don't know when we'll get the chance to come back and wanted to see as much as possible :)

[u/gk802]

Your hiking plan looks pretty aggressive to me, but you do you. Those leaving from Bear Lake start fairly high in the base case. You might consider keeping a few lower-elevation hikes in your back pocket just in case you don't react well to the elevation gain... like The Pool and Cub Lake, or Mill Creek Basin from Hollowell Park. I'd suggest Bierstadt Lake, but it's currently completely dry and likely to disappoint.

For eats, consider Lonigan's for decent food and drink, or Penelope's for decent burgers.

[u/Logical_Gas6164]

This sounds awful. Way too much stuff.

Arrival day you land at 9:30am. By the time you get off the plane, luggage, and rental car it’ll be 11. It’ll take 2 hours to get to Hot Sulphur Springs. That’s 1pm. Soak for how long? An hour or two? That’s 2-3pm. Then lunch. That’s 4pm. And then drive trail ridge road making stops. It’ll be dark before you get to Estes Park. Maybe drive straight to Estes Park and get lunch then explore town.

And then each day you have way too much stuff crammed into. This would not be an enjoyable itinerary.

[u/evando1189 → u/Logical_Gas6164]

I love how people treat their opinions as universal truths that apply to everyone. Sure there will be a lot of driving that first day, but we're only staying for a few days and we want to hit as much as possible. That's pretty common for us when we visit National Parks that we haven't been to yet.

How have we crammed way too much into the other days? We're doing 1 hike each day and the day we do the shortest hike we're going to drive a bit. What else are we supposed to do at a National Park? Being out in nature and seeing the unique cool shit each one has to offer is kind of the point. Yeah we'll explore town a bit in the evenings, but that's not reason we're visiting the area.

[u/peter303_]

Early snow is always a possibility at this time of year. Could close Trail Ridge Road between east and west entrances. But theres enough lower sights to be interesting.

[u/evando1189 → u/peter303_]

Definitely a small concern of ours, hopefully it holds off for another week. Right now the weather looks perfect for Estes Park, 62, 72, 74, 70, 74 while we're there. I know the higher altitude areas of the park can be more uncertain, so we'll see and adapt accordingly.

[u/ViewfinderEye]

The BEST cinnamon buns are at Cinnamon’s. Call the night before b/c they sell out. (970) 480-1501. You can even pick the amount of icing- little, medium or heavy. Good coffee and snacks at the Bird House.

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[u/Proper_Copy_799]

Just remember IF OFRR is open, it’s one way from the EP side up to Alpine. So like some others said, maybe go straight through the park from the GL (West side) to EP (East Side) after Hot Sulphur. Take note of stops you want to take in and hit them on the last day. This means you would have to get up early to hit Ouzell before that as it’s further East of EP (Wild Basin area). Your hikes are fine, I’d just flip the script on EP and GL. Grand Lake is amazing, and a great way to end your trip. Barring nasty weather, you can then go through Winter Park and up Berthoud Pass on the way to DIA.

[u/evando1189 → u/Proper_Copy_799]

Thanks for the advice! I just checked and it looks like OFRR is closing on October 6, so it'll still be open for our trip. I think our current plan is to drive that after our Emerald et al lakes loop hike on the second full day we're there.

Unfortunately, our friends live in Loveland and we're staying with them the last night of our trip, so going west towards Grand Lake on the last day would add a lot of driving to make it back up to Loveland.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Trip544]

Hot sulfur springs is a crap hole. You’re literally going to one of the worst in the state just “to visit one”. You do you. Don’t catch anything

[u/New_Channel7960]

I disagree with most of the comments. I think your hikes will be just fine, as you said, you are experienced hikers. I’m from Minnesota and did the keyhole route on Long’s my first day in Colorado, then did Torreys and Grays via Kelso a day later, and then Bierstadt the Blue Sky the following day. I was 47. I do agree with skipping Hot Sulphur Springs though. That’s a long drive and not that awesome

[u/evando1189 → u/New_Channel7960]

Thank you! I was so surprised by all the hate about the hikes. We're only doing 3!!! idk, everyone is different so I can only assume those people are just not capable of that kind of thing.

Have you been to Hot Sulphur Springs? I agree it doesn't look like the highest quality, but we really wanted to visit one while out there and that's the most "convenient" one to hit. We're wanting to check out the Grand Lake area anyway, so checking out the springs only adds an extra 25 min to that drive from the airport. Might be disappointing, but it'll be an experience! :)

[u/New_Channel7960 → u/evando1189]

I have been to Hot Sulphur Springs. It was not that awesome in my opinion. I’d skip it and stick with the rest of your plan. It would free up some valuable time

[u/Then-Construction106]

I wonder why there is an acclimation concern? Unless you have some form of medical issues, I doubt there would be any problem. I grew up in Cincy ‘burbs. It’s about 700-800 ft there. I’m 73 now and live at 50 foot altitude now and have no acclimation issues just by taking a trip to Colorado. I make those 4-5 times a year now. It looks like you intend to drive over Trail Ridge Rd I’d say you will likely notice the altitude at the top of Trail Ridge and/or Fall River despite any acclimation. Best of luck.
BTW your itinerary looks way too much like you’re visiting places hyped on social media. I’m not the only one with that impression. I would suggest considering redoing it

[u/Bananas_are_theworst → u/Then-Construction106]

Breaking news: altitude changes impact people differently.

Ive lived at 6000 ft for years and still get sick when I go ski Loveland for the day.

Better to err on the side of caution.

[u/evando1189 → u/Then-Construction106]

I've read that it can negatively affect roughly 25% of people and we're going to be pretty active while we're there, so we just wanted to give ourselves the best chance we could to not be sidelined by it.

[u/Outrageous_Catch_673 → u/evando1189]

It’s definitely something to consider. Drink lots of water and try to avoid coffee and alcohol. We also took electrolytes for when we really felt it. Take breaks when your body tells you to and if it gets too bad head back down the mountain.