Our first stop is always one of the gateway visitor centers. Stops Along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park Check out our article on tips for the best compact binoculars. You’ll love being able to scope out the distant mountains. Quick Tip Don’t forget your binoculars! You can see “forever” from each of the pull offs. The fall closing date varies each year depending upon the weather. If in doubt it’s easy to check the current Trail Ridge Road status by calling 97 to hear a recorded message or check out the Rocky Mountain National Park Road Status page. There will be random times during the open season when Trail Ridge Road will be closed due to snow or ice, surprisingly even in mid summer. It’s a little crazy to have a snowball fight in shorts! Even in July we found snow along the highway. The highway is only open from Memorial Day until mid-fall when the new snow begins to make it impassible. Many of the open curves are designed to provide a wide sweeping view of the valleys and mountains. The wide 2 lane highway takes advantage of long continuous curves to keep the grade between 5-7%. Trail Ridge Road, built in the 1930s, has an incredibly well thought out design to maximize the experience. It looks like you could drive right off into the sky! We generally found that if one pull-off was busy, we could usually find a spot at the next one. Stop often and enjoy this beautiful park. This is why a large number of pull-offs are a gift to the driver. But not so much if you keep your eye on the road. There are sections with no guardrails and a lot of curves. We include the Trail Ridge Road as park of our One Day in Rocky Mountain National Park Itinerary because a trip to the park is not complete without this drive. To fully embrace all this drive has to offer you should plan at least 4 hours, preferably much more so you can leisurely gawk at the wonders. In theory you could run the full length in 1 ½ hours. Trail Ridge Road runs 48 miles between Estes Park on the East and Grand Lake in the West. Spend your day driving the length of Trail Ridge Road and discover the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. Alpine, above 11,400 feet where despite the harsh conditions life on the tundra is prolific in the summer months.Sub Alpine, 9,000-11,400 feet where the meadows fill with wildflowers during the short summer growing season.Wildlife is abundant, with elk often gathering near the road. The Montane Ecosystem, below 9,000 feet greets you as you enter the park with 150 foot tall ponderosa pines.As you climb from 7,800 feet to over 12,000 feet you progressively drive through three unique ecosystems: In this one drive you will get a taste for almost everything the park has to offer. I’d love to share some of our favorite stops with you! First a little about Trail Ridge Road Every twist and turn reveals a breathtaking view! The many mini hikes spidering from the highway let you experience nature of every kind. If this is your first visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, start with one of the most scenic drives in the country! Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park was dubbed the Highway to The Sky by its builders for good reason.
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