On our second day in Rocky Mountain National Park, we decided to drive the famous Trail Ridge Road. This is the main road through the park that takes you from one side of the mountain range to the other. There are a lot of beautiful viewpoints along the way.
We entered the park about 5:45AM that morning, and for about an hour to an hour and a half, it seemed like we had the whole park to ourselves. Peaceful. We started at the east entrance near Estes park, and took the road almost all the way to Grand Lake.
For the first several miles, we didn’t stop much other than just the pull offs along the side of the road. The drive itself was amazing. At times, we just seemed to climb and climb up into the mountains.
Around Milner Pass is where we crossed the continental divide.
The Alpine Visitor Center was still closed at that time due to snow, but the parking area was open. There is a short trail with a bunch of stairs that lead up to a point that offers stunning views of the mountains. We had to climb over some snow banks to get to the trail. I don’t really think we were supposed to do that, but we weren’t the only ones there that day.
One of the last stops we made along the road was Holzwarth Historic Site, in the valley at the foot of the Never Summer Mountains. Where a family started a dude ranch, which is believed to be the first of its kind in Colorado. You have the opportunity to walk through the historical site and see how these people were living over 100 years ago.
We made our way back to Estes Park the way we came, stopping at several more lookouts along the way. This park is beautiful, and I hope to get back again one day.
It's a Magical Life 