Rocky Mountain Natl Park-Trail Ridge Road

I second Thom's second post. A couple of observations over the past week in EP. The lines entering the park are long especially around noon. The other day it was 1.2 miles on the Elk Meadow side!
The road into Bear Lake has been restricted to traffic the past several days. The parking lots are full for the most part. Catching the shuttle to Bears Lake would be my recommendation. Or, just take the Peak to Peak road and enjoy the views.

Gary

Horsedoc wrote:
Interesting ride is the Old Falls River Road. It is dirt and one way to the top where it intersects with US 34 at the visitors center. Not nearly the vistas that 34 has but slow and fun to drive. We saw a lot of wild life as we made the drive a few years ago. Easy to navigate, even in a regular auto. I would like not try it in a rain storm but it is something we absolutely enjoyed.

X-2 , This is what we did, up Old Falls River Road, to Alpine Visitor Center, then back down Trail Ridge, best of both worlds. ;)

Interesting ride is the Old Falls River Road. It is dirt and one way to the top where it intersects with US 34 at the visitors center. Not nearly the vistas that 34 has but slow and fun to drive. We saw a lot of wild life as we made the drive a few years ago. Easy to navigate, even in a regular auto. I would like not try it in a rain storm but it is something we absolutely enjoyed.

Grey Mountain wrote:
We are planning a trip to Colorado in a few weeks, and would like to take a day trip from our base camp through the park on the Trail Ridge Road. Are there any steep drop-offs on this road? My British Bride is not overly fond of sheer cliffs with beautiful valles several thousand feet below...

Simple - just head on up to Trail Ridge on "Peak to Peak" - if the road starts to cause a concern then just pull off in a turn out and head Back. Happens all the time.

With this option you will at least see some of the Beauty of Colorado on your Drive.

Personal Suggestion - this will be a long day in the Car so I'd pack some nibbles/Refreshments just in case - you can always find a great Spot to Slide off and Enjoy Lunch. Couple other options would be to Head out of Golden on RT 6 to 119 and when leaving Estes Park head back through Boulder and catch a Great Dinner - Just a Thought.

We do it all the time - stay in GOlden Clear Creek and I love the Drive - usually with a stop in Nederland before either heading on a hike or Estes Park or even Back to Boulder down Boulder Creek Canyon, just so much to see and do - don't let anyone convince you that it is not FUN.

JMHO,

Did you say a daytrip from Dakota Ridge? If so, I would not even consider Trail Ridge as by the time you get there it will be bumper to bumper and moving slowly with lots of people stopping.

Thom had an excellent suggestion - take a bus up to Bear Lake. Granted you will not see as much of Rocky but you will see one of the most beautiful places. (You will see Hallett's Peak which my dear wife and I hiked three times from that parking area.) If you have a little time walk a bit counterclockwise around the lake.

His suggestion for Rainbow and Many Parks is excellent.

By the time you get to Rocky you will be well back up at the gate I think and pretty jammed.

Depends upon your patience level.

BTW, our daughter went to London 30 years ago to study for a semester; she is still there!

Yes. There are plenty of dropoffs. People have a choice. They can confront their fears and get over them, or stay out of the mountains. It comes with the territory.

Grey Mountain wrote:
Thanks for all the responses. RMNP is not our objective - we will be staying at the Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden, visiting an English friend of my British Bride whom she has not seen in over 30 years. While there, we are going to take a day trip. Limited on time.
When we visited Yellowstone, we spent ten days there, parked in Gardiner and took many day trips into the park.
May have to just start from the Estes Park entrance, go until my wife says "Enough."
We did that at Pikes Peak. From the toll gate to the top it is 19 miles. We made it all the way to Mile Marker 1 before my wife said "turn around."

If your British Bride was not fond of start of the Pikes Peak Road, she will not enjoy the higher elevations of Trail Ridge. And since you are limited on time, a suggestion for RMNP.

Park at the Beaver Meadows Visitors Center and take the shuttle up to Bear Lake. While there are a few twisties near the end of the road, the buses do it all the time and the scenery is incredible. Bear Lake itself is usually crowded, so if you can get there early in the day, so much the better. Or, get off at some of the stopping points on the way up and take a day hike on some of the trails. Well worth it!

Another suggestion would be to stay in the lower reaches of the park and enjoy the vistas from the valleys of the majestic peaks that abound. She may be OK with going up Trail Ridge as far as Rainbow Curve or even Many Parks Curve, since you're still within the trees.

And you could also head up from Golden to Black Hawk on US6/CO119 and take the Peak to Peak Highway from Black Hawk through Nederland, Ward and Allenspark, up to Estes Park. Beautiful views along the way, and at Ward you could go into the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area at Brainard Lake. Some awesome views there, nothing difficult getting there that might cause your wife some concern, and some marvelous hikes that are relatively easy, though at elevation.

Thanks for all the responses. RMNP is not our objective - we will be staying at the Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden, visiting an English friend of my British Bride whom she has not seen in over 30 years. While there, we are going to take a day trip. Limited on time.
When we visited Yellowstone, we spent ten days there, parked in Gardiner and took many day trips into the park.
May have to just start from the Estes Park entrance, go until my wife says "Enough."
We did that at Pikes Peak. From the toll gate to the top it is 19 miles. We made it all the way to Mile Marker 1 before my wife said "turn around."

Thom did an excellent job. We lived in Estes for 8 years and loved driving Trail Ridge. Keep in mind, we were experienced mountain road drivers. Yes, there are no guard rail, little shoulder dropoffs where your first bounce after going over is several hundred feet down.

Go early in the morning - I mean early. It is a traffic jam later. And people stop in the middle of the road to get out and take pictures; some even leave their car. Kinda jams things up.

I could write a book of stories about it.

And you have no control over the other driver.

We are heading to CO again from Tucson area. And, once again, we are not going back to Estes Park - it is a zoo with people in the summer.

I have lived in Colorado most of my life and look at Trail Ridge as being the same as RMNP. If you haven't driven Trail Ridge Road, you haven't seen RMNP. For me at least, that would be like going to Yellowstone NP for the first time and skipping Old Faithful Geyser and Yellowstone Falls.

Sure, there are some other scenic attractions at RMNP, but Estes Park is NOT one of them. And limiting yourself just to the east side of the park after traveling 100's of miles to get there is missing the whole objective of the park's creation. The park was created to preserve the high mountains and the tundra, not just the valleys on each side.

Despite it's name, Trail Ridge is not some jeep trail over a high mountain pass. It is paved US Highway 34. Black Bear and Schofield Passes are a completely different story, but they're not in RMNP!