Rocky Mountain National Park

We planned meticulously for our trip. Every activity was scoped out; every hour scheduled. But our plans were mostly guidelines. Just suggestions. And we learned that quickly at Rocky Mountain.

Read our Rocky Mountain itinerary

We entered through the Fall River gate early in the morning. Our very first stop in the park was Sheep Lakes, where there was a bit of a commotion amongst the small handful of visitors in the parking lot.

We strolled over to see what it was all about and quickly found ourselves hustling back to the van to get our cameras. There, wading and feeding in a small lake was a juvenile moose, just a hundred yards or so from us. After his leisurely bath and a bite to eat, he took off across the marsh and disappeared into the willows.

We’d been in the park for less than half an hour, and we’d already spotted one of the animals we were most hoping to see. We were off to a good start.

We knew we were headed to Alpine Visitor Center at 11,769 feet elevation, atop the park. We decided to take Old Fall River Road – an unpaved, one-way route that winds and switches back up the mountainside for 11 miles. We took our time, stopping at waterfalls and to watch a marmot feast on a small rodent right on the shoulder of the road.

The highlight the drive up for the girls was a close encounter with snow. Just a short walk from the road on a well-worn trail, we were able to approach a patch of snow that covered a couple acres on the mountainside. The novelty of snow at any time of year – let alone in July – was not lost on these two kids from Honolulu. They reveled in it, making mini-snow people and observing the way the ice and snow melt to form the beginning of a mountain stream.

From Alpine Visitor Center we did a brief hike to a pinnacle which took us above 12,000 feet. It was a short but strenuous hike, considering we reside less than 300 feet above sea level and therefore aren’t used to the lack of oxygen at this altitude. In the visitor center, the girls were able to shop for a few souvenirs and take part in a Park Ranger-led program. Most importantly, they picked up their Junior Ranger activity books – something we plan to make a staple for our trip.

In the visitor center parking lot, we began the “license plate game.” In just that afternoon, we spotted 35 different states – a great start. We proceeded to the west side of the park through Medicine Bow Curve, Fairview Curve, and into the Kewanachee Valley. This is the area of the park known to be best for moose spotting, but we had apparently used up our moose karma back at Sheep Lakes. A quick stop for ice cream in the gorgeous town of Grand Lake just outside the park, and we headed back up.

The Kewanachee Valley was victim to a large wildfire in the fall of 2020 called the East Troublesome fire. The scars are still quite prevalent, and will be for years. At some points the fire was so hot on one side of the road that it created a “wind” that blew and bent trees on the other side, essentially making them look like there were made of rubber. Now they sit there, bending at a significant arc, branchless and leafless, and charred at the bottom. It’s quite eerie.

One important stop as we headed down Trail Ridge Road on the way to our campground was Rock Cut. In that area, we saw our first small group of elk cows in the tundra. But the wildlife spot of the day (for Emma, anyway) were the pika. Pika are small members of the rabbit family that look like wild gerbils, but more agile and cuter. We spend as much time as we could observing them before a looming thunderstorm pushed us out.

Our day ended at Moraine Park Campground with a campfire and s’mores. The girls were amazed that mule deer would roam wild in our campground. (We have very few large mammals on our island.)

The next morning, we negotiated the shuttle to Bear Lake, hiked the loop then proceeded to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake. These are very popular trails, and for good reason. These alpine lakes with their crystal-clear waters and cascades between each offer some incredible vistas, on a relatively easy hike. Emerald lake is a must hike for any visitor, and for more adept hikers, a large network of interconnected trails allows for a more distance and greater challenge. Our total for both the Bear Lake loop and the out-and-back to Emerald Lake was 4.5 miles roundtrip, with just 725 feet in elevation gain.

Along the way, the girls also began their love affair with the golden mantled ground squirrel and the least chipmunk – friendly, furry friends that we would encounter again.

Afterwards, we checked out the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, then drove back to Sheep Lakes in search of big horn sheep and – fingers crossed – a bull moose. We saw nothing but Wyoming ground squirrels, but we enjoyed a nice conversation with National Park Service seasonal volunteers about the flora and fauna of the area.

Dinner, a campfire, and a safe – but close – encounter with a mule deer buck was all we required to complete a wonderful day.

Day three in Rocky Mountain was a decision day. The schedule said to do the six-mile hike to summit Dear Mountain, but on day one, we had been rained out of most of the stops along Trail Ridge Road, which many consider to be the jewel of the park. So, on a Ranger’s advice we drove back up Trail Ridge, stopping at each stop along the way. Deer Mountain will have to wait until next visit.

At Hidden Valley, we visited the Junior Ranger headquarters, and the girls – who had completed their workbooks – were sworn in as official Junior Rangers of Rocky Mountain National Park. The pride that these children have for both their individual accomplishment and for their connection to the greater system that cares for the national parks was obvious.

There, we also stumbled onto a Junior Ranger program that featured wildland firefighters recently returned from a deployment to fight wildfires in Idaho. They showed off their equipment, explained how they do their job, and even let the kids shoot long streams of water from the firehouse into the air. For their participation, the girls earned a National Park Service Junior Firefighter patch. The kids don’t truly need the patches and badges the accompany the Junior Ranger program, but they sure do love them and work hard to get them. It’s hands down the best program in the park service.

Further stops at Many Parks, Rainbow Curve, Forest Canyon Overlook, and Rock Cut brought us more elk, marmots, pikas, and what may have been beaver. For lunch at Rock Cut, we popped the top on the campervan and made sandwiches. Lunch with the pikas! Unfortunately, we had to cancel our hike on the Tundra Communities trail because of afternoon thunderstorms again – a common occurrence at Rocky Mountain.

Back down the mountain, we took an informal hike through Upper Beaver Meadows, walking into the aftermath of the wildfires that stalked Rocky Mountain last fall. Amongst the singed tree trunks and scorched earth, we broke out our binoculars to follow a woodpecker from tree to tree. On our return stroll we took the chance to appreciate the wildflowers in the meadow.

In a spur-of-the moment decision, we decided not to return to camp, but to drive to the end of the road where the Fern Lake trailhead begins. It seemed like a good place to relax, hang the hammock, read a book, and eat dinner. The beauty of campervan travel is that you have everything with you, allowing for just that much more spontaneity.

At one point, Claire — enrapt in the hammock — loudly whispered “Look, look.” She was just a few feet away from a pair of mule deer – a doe and a fawn. The white spotted fawn bounced around follow its mother and bringing joy to the girls.

Our objective for the evening was to see a bull moose at Sprague Lake around sunset. Of course, sunset wasn’t until close to 8:30pm. So, after dinner, we made another spontaneous decision. We hiked down the Fern Lake trail. The trail had reopened just a week earlier, after finally being declared safe to hike on, given the wildfire damage. The landscape was quiet, still, and black, unlike other hikes.

The plan was to complete the 3.8-mile roundtrip and then jump back in the car and head to the moose watching spot. However, about 1.5 miles in, across the stream and at an elevation even to ours, we spotted a great surprise: the bull moose we had been looking for. He was sauntering down the river gorge for an evening snack, no doubt. He walked upstream, and we were able to keep pace with him, walking in parallel at a safe distance on the opposite side of the stream. (Bull moose are not to be trifled with, and we always maintained well more than 100 yards distance.) We saw no one else on the trail, which contributed to some of the magic we felt in this moment. We lost the moose in the brush, just before we hit the “the Pool”, our turnaround point.

We slept well that night, knowing that, while we didn’t check every item off of our agenda and added some unplanned activities, we covered Rocky Mountain pretty well. Our 9- and 11-year-old hikers had adjusted decently to the elevation. Our wildlife and license plate spotting skills were on point, and we loved our campervan accommodations.

The next morning, we awoke early, ate breakfast, and got on the road toward Grand Teton. About nine hours in the car with a few pitstops – including Whole Foods and REI in Fort Collins – brought us to Moran, Wyoming and the entrance to Grand Teton.

One park down, six to go! Thanks for a great three days, Rocky Mountain!

Grand Teton National Park

Off we go…