Map from NPS highlighting the different ecosystems (Alpile, Subalpine and Montane) within the park.
Longs Peak Area
Odessa Gorge
Tyndall Gorge
Moraine Park
Looking into Spruce Canyon from Moraine Park at sunset. Jan 21 2017
Another View of Spruce Canyon at Sunset. Jan 21, 2017
Loch Vale
Loch Vale (Early March 2017)
Sky Pond, Early March 2017
Loch Vale Trip Reports
Glacier Gorge
Glacier Gorge in winter (Jan 21, 2017)
Glacier Gorge viewed on the approach to Flattop Mt.
Black Lake in winter (Jan 21 2017).
Looking down on Black Lake. In the background are McHenry's Peak (center) and Arrowhead (right). Dec 09, 2017
Glacier Gorge Trip Reports
Wild Basin
Wild Basin is my favorite area of the whole park and represents National Parks at their best: jaw dropping scenery and few people if you're willing to work for it. The Hunters Creek area directly behind Mt. Meeker, Longs Peak and Pagoda Peak is probably the most spectacular place I've been in my whole life. Its not accessed by any standard trail (and NPS doesn't discourage visits) and it feels truly rugged and wild.
From left to right: Tanima Peak, Pilot Mt., Mt Alice, Chiefs Head Peak and Mt. Meeker. Pagoda Peak and Longs Peak are hidden (between Chiefs Head Peak and Mt. Meeker)
From left to right: Chiefs Head Peak, Pagoda Mt., Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker
Mt. Alice
Looking south into Wild Basin from Chiefs Head Peak. July 02, 2018
Looking NE (backwards) into Wild Basin on the approach to Tanima Peak.
June 02, 2018
North face of Mt. Copeland. Photo taken from valley above Bluebird Lake, Oct 29, 2017
My campsite in Hunters Creek below Pagoda Peak, Longs Peak, and Mt. Meeker on my "Wild Basin High Route". July 01 2018.
Wild Basin Trip Reports
Mummy Range and Northern Boundary
Looking towards the southern region of the Mummy Range from near Kruger Rock near Estes Park. From left to right starting at the valley: Mt. Chapin, Mt. Chiquita Ypsilon Mt. and Fairchild Mt. The valley between Ypsilon Mt. and Fairchild Mt is one of my favorite parts of the park. Finds like this are one of the perks of getting scared by a cloud and bailing early.
Looking west into RMNP from the Estes Park overlook
Looking north towards Ypsilon Mt. from Mt. Chiquita
Looking towards the Mummy Range in northern RMNP from Commanche Peak. Evening June 02, 2018
Mt. Ikoko above Mirror Lake. Early morning, June 03 2018.
Mummy Range Trip Reports
Western RMNP
Looking towards Mt. Craig on the way to Lake Verna. June 10 2017
Gorge Lakes near Mt. Ida. From Day 1 of the Pfiffner Traverse
From Day 2 of the Pfiffner Traverse.
Camping in RMNP
In years past I've avoided RMNP in the summer due to the crowds, and the hassle of securing a backcountry campsite many months in advance. However, I recently realized that there are a number of backcountry zones in more remote areas of the park which are in general not accessed by trails. In the map below, backcountry campsites are indicated with black triangles and the cross-country zones are indicated in light solid green. A higher resolution pdf can be downloaded below.
| campsite_map_small-2016.pdf |
| backcountry_guide_2014.pdf |
Interactive Caltopo map of RMNP
I put the majority of my Google Earth (read: GPS) files for Rocky Mountain National Park onto this Caltopo map. It includes all of the mapping information required for planning an overnight trip in the park, including car campgrounds, designated backcountry campsites and even the technical cross-country zones (which I crudely sketched myself based on the NPS document above) . It also includes other placemarks like peaks, mountain passes, lakes, waterfalls, meadows, trailheads, trails etc.
Of particular interest is a collection of "Misc Mountaineering Routes" in the park. These are taken from my own GPS tracks, GPS tracks of other people that I found online, and also simply sketching an approximate route onto the maps based off of guidebooks. These are thick, dashed lines and are color coded according to difficulty. I have tried to include an appropriate guidebook reference under "comments" for each route.
Class 1: Green
Class 2: Light Blue
Class 3: Blue
Class 4: Purple
Class 5: Black
Of particular interest is a collection of "Misc Mountaineering Routes" in the park. These are taken from my own GPS tracks, GPS tracks of other people that I found online, and also simply sketching an approximate route onto the maps based off of guidebooks. These are thick, dashed lines and are color coded according to difficulty. I have tried to include an appropriate guidebook reference under "comments" for each route.
Class 1: Green
Class 2: Light Blue
Class 3: Blue
Class 4: Purple
Class 5: Black
- Interactive Caltopo Map of RMNP: https://caltopo.com/m/TNT4
Misc RMNP Links
Webcams: www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
Trail Conditions: www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/trail_conditions.htm
Trail Conditions: www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/trail_conditions.htm
References/Suggested Reading
Books
Websites/Blog
- Best Hikes Rocky Mountain National Park by Kent Dannen
- Honestly, I don't use this anymore since it only covers the standard classic hikes and I've basically done all of those. It was useful when I started so I'm including it here.
- Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide by Lisa Foster
- I've grown to like this book more and more the longer I've had it.
- Rocky Mountain National Park by Richard Rossiter
- A new book focused more on technical climbing but also has some info on scrambles. The photos are fantastic.
- Rocky Mountain National Park: Classic Hikes and Climbs by Gerry Roach
- FYI: This one is out of print and actually has some significant errors. Fortunately, I bought my copy from Gerry Roach's website several years ago and the version he sent me had handwritten notes marking all the errors.
- Colorado's Thirteeners: From Hikes to Climbs by Gerry Roach
- All of the RMNP information in this book (routes on Mt. Meeker) is included in his RMNP book but I'm including it since the RMNP book is out of print and apparently the 13ers book is being reprinted and shipping Sept 2018.
- Colorado's Front Range Thirteeners by Derek Wolfe
- This one is quickly becoming a favorite. It also has great information on obscure scrambles in Indian Peaks Wilderness and other areas.
Websites/Blog
- www.hikingrmnp.org/: I don't know this guy personally but I admire his dedication. It looks like he's visited nearly every named destination in RMNP. The only person I'm aware of that has done this is Lisa Foster.
My RMNP Google Earth Files
The .kmz file has standard placemarks like peaks, lakes, waterfalls, backcountry campsites, cross country zones etc. The cross-country zones are crudely drawn by me using the polygon tool in Google Earth and are thus only roughly correct. I've also included official RMNP trails in orange, and area roads in white.
| rmnp_apr_06_2018.kmz |