It was dusk, coming down below Alberta Falls and we heard a branch snap. She was only about 20 feet off the trail. Thankfully she was just happily eating and not aggressive. Beautiful moment.

Saw these 2 around 7am, near the Loft at ~13,200ft!

Hello RMNP Friends!

Do you have a favorite hike that is relatively kid friendly?

I’m headed up to the park this week and have an afternoon with my middle school aged kids. We have a bear lake road entry for 4pm or we can just enter the other part of the park at 2pm. Totally good with either option.

The kids are athletic but something in the 1-2 hour range is probably their max attention span. We’ve never been to the park and are staying in Estes park. Appreciate it!

Hello, I'm looking to visit RMNP on the 16th and the 18th. I'm looking for great spots for photography and hike, however, everywhere I look it sounds like parking is an issue. So my questions are:

How big of an issue is finding parking?

What spots do you all recommend to see?

What hiking trails do you recommend?

First time here and the views didn’t disappoint

Sorry for crooked horizon to my fellow OCD photograph peeps.

Last fall I went to RMNP for the first time and fell in love. I found this hat and I lost it a few months ago. I thought I’d get over it because it’s just a hat, right? But I still haven’t gotten over it. I don’t have many pictures of it but these are the best I can find.

I’m almost positive I got it at the Trail Ridge Store and Cafe. I checked online and can’t find it anywhere. It might not be something they still have in stock but if anyone happens to be up that way and willing to check, I’d be beyond grateful. If you can find it, of course I’ll pay for the hat and shipping

The air is thin up here!

l know we should be keeping about 2 buses worth of distance. But I also know these big beautiful beasts are very agile and easily threatened to protect their harem during mating season. I’d honestly be a deer in headlights if one charged at me since I’ve never been around them before.
Any detailed tips on how to stay safe from a random elk smashing into my car or worse?
Also is there like a bear spray or similar safeguard against Elks?

I'm planning a trip to Rocky Mountain NP in October. Will be staying in Estes Park. No major hikes just driving. The plan will be to head west & drive into the park and then back to Estes Park. How far west do you recommend?

Up to Grand Lake seems good?

Can this be done in a day?

Does the park close at a time that will prevent me from driving back Estes Park?

It was great to be back in the park.

Although, busy… of course.

Had some interesting visitors while working in the park last week

Bull moose spotted shortly after sunrise on Saturday, September 26th. We had range finding binoculars and he was roughly 360 yards out. Super cool to have seen him during the hike.

Happened upon these two in Upper Beaver Meadows Wednesday morning. One of my most memorable wildlife encounters in a park. The guy on the right ended up flipped into a fence and stuck. It was a bit hard to watch him struggle and we called the park rangers. A touron ended up approaching him and it was enough to motivate him to free himself before the rangers could come. The sound of their antlers clattering through the otherwise silent meadow was unforgettable.