Rocky Mountain National Park

[Markus Albertz]

Good Day,

First trip to Rocky Mountain National Park for a few days in June... Can anyone suggest the best located campground for scenery, day hiking and photography (yes, in that order)?

 

[An Le-qun]

A couple of things to work from--bear in mind, though, this is from someone who has not been there in a long time. But you never forget it.

1. Investigate campgrounds on the west side of the park. The east side is great, spectacular, unbeatable...but it's also where everyone else is. Look for something to the south of the Never Summer Range, maybe around the Shadow Mountain Lake area (I think Grand Lake is probably mobbed).

2. On the east side, consider the YMCA complex that is between Estes Park and RMNP; they used to have regular--several a day--hikes of varying levels of strenuousness. Of course, there are some Park-organized hikes, and there's plenty you can do on your own, but if the Y is anything like it used to be, they're great for organizing things to get you acclimated (and don't underestimate that--if you are from lower elevations, being a mile and a half above sea level is quite a change, and you can easily mess yourself up by taking things too quickly; but there are things you can do to prepare during the month prior to your stay, wherever you are from).

3. Don't neglect the area south of the park, known as the Indian Peaks wilderness area or something like that. RMNP is great, and nothing beats Long's Peak, but there's some scenery and trails in the Indian Peaks that are really spectacular.

4. Wish I were going! Enjoy it, and go back next year and the year after that. It never gets old. Like Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and a dozen other parks, you could spend your entire life there and never get tired of it.

 

[mccutchj]

One consideration is the current outbreak of mountain pine beetle. Most of the lodgepole pines in the area around Grand Lake are now dead. The outbreak has moved across the divide to the East Slope, but it is not as far along as on the West Slope. I think that the northeast quarter of the park is least affected by pine beetles, if that is a concern to you. If you want more information on this, the Forest Service has maps and other information on bark beetles (e.g., http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/bark-beetle/).

One of my favorite areas of the park is Wild Basin, which is south of Estes Park. Although it is on the east side and can be more crowded than the west side, Wild Basin is quite a bit less crowded than some areas closer to the main entrance. In this part of the park, about half of the trees ~9000 feet elevation are affected by beetles (i.e., brown). It is still a beautiful place, but the middle elevation forests look different than they did a few years ago.

 

[Derek Lofgreen]

They are all fantastic for scenery, hiking and photography. Camping anywhere inside the park is wonderful and everything is within a hike. Can't go wrong anywhere in the park. If it's your first time bring LOTS of film, enjoy.

D.

 

[Markus Albertz]

This is great. Thank you all!

 

[EdColorado]

More on pine beetles Markus. I live just on the east side of the park. We had a story in the local paper a while ago stating that some of the campgrounds would be closed for much of the season this year due to the danger of dead trees falling over. I dont remember which camps were affected so I'd recommend some research before you come out. Camping could be hard to get, advance reservations will be a really good idea.
As to which campgrounds to try for, thats a tough one as the entire place is pretty spectacular. As mentioned in a previous post the west side is quieter, less crowded. The Never Summer Range is lovely, moose hang out on the west side, plus of course plenty of Elk. There are some nice hikes and the really high altitude stuff is closer than from the east side. The east side though has the big valleys and mega views, less pine beetle damage, and more area to explore in general.
On the east side I prefer the Moraine Park area and Bear Lake. Moraine Park is lovely and has a nice campground. Bear Lake is the jump off point for a number of really nice hikes. Bear lake however is probably the busiest area of the park, or at least the most congested due to its lack of space. Shuttles will get you there though, the parking area fills quickly.
On the west side I usually camp at Timber Creek. Lots of elk in the area, and often in the camp ground itself. Timber Creek is a first come first served campground so could be hard to get into.
I'd recommend you spend some time on the park web site here:
http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
Read about campgrounds and the beetle problem to get an idea of whats what.
Any questions, drop me a note and I'll be happy to help,