Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park

We are looking forward to exploring Rocky Mountain National Park over the next two weeks. Our home base is LaVern M Johnson Park – a city park in the heart of Lyons, Colorado. Lyons is a nice location being in between Estes Park, the gateway to the National Park, and Boulder, a fun, hip college town.

We did a nice bike ride around Lyons on our first full day. The route is named Fruit Loops. Not sure why because it is a couple out-n-backs, not a loop. Perhaps because one of the legs is on Apple Valley Rd. Great route along the North and South forks of the St Vrain Creek. Peaceful, relaxing, virtually no vehicle traffic — my kind of bike ride 🙂

My next solo ride is named Peak-to-Peak Loop. Big climbs, big descents, spectacular scenery. This route goes along the Scenic Highway 7 which is currently under construction. It is supposed to be closed to cyclists but the flagger said I could go thru anyways. Sweet. The climb on this one is really long and relentless but the forest, mountain, and creek views make it easy to forget the challenge. All the way up to the little town of Ward, a historic mining town. Old, abandoned mines are evident everywhere from the tailing piles. A cool, little historic general store is a cyclist hang-out. Nice to see so many fellow cyclists out — this part of Colorado is popular among road riders. The descent out of Ward is incredible. Loved every mile. Rolled back into Lyons just in time to beat the afternoon thunderstorm. Afternoon thunderstorms are very common up here in the
Colorado mountains.

We had to incorporate a Boulder day into our stay. We hit up the Farmer’s Market. Indulged on a tasty pastry. Walked around Pearl St — the main drag of Boulder. Lunch at Twisted Pine Brewing Co — excellent fig pizza. The combo of sweet and savory on this pizza pie is exquisite. Boulder is a great town — just big enough to have alot of cool restaurants and bars, but not too big to have alot of the problems faced by large cities.

Our next hike was at Bottom Rock Dam, just outside of Lyons. A popular fly fishing area. Great hike along the North St Vrain Creek to Ralph Price Reservoir. The spillway opening is only about 5′ x 5′ and the water shoots out with some serious force and noise. Amazing.

First day at Rocky Mountain National Park, within the first 15 minutes of entering the park, we saw moose, elk, and a marmot. Score. We hiked to Chasm Falls and drove up Trail Ridge Rd to the Alpine Visitor Center. Very scenic views of the many snow-capped peaks in the Park. Very cool to go up to the tundra region and observe how the weather changes at the higher altitude. We wanted to squeeze in one more hike at Gem Lake — bad idea 🙁 Like I mentioned earlier, afternoon thunderstorms are common here and we got caught in one. We were drenched by the time we made it back to the car. Lesson learned — stick to morning hikes 🙂

We kayaked on McIntosh Lake. Lots of people on the lake in paddle boards and kayaks. Sunny, warm day. We saw blue herons and pelicans. I had no idea pelicans leave the ocean and come inland. Our kayak seats are still leaking air but after the trip to the lake I was finally able to figure out where the leak is. Tiny pin-sized hole in the same spot on both seats. Hopefully I can patch it and put this issue behind us.

Back to Rocky Mountain National Park to the Wild Basin area to hike Ouzel Falls. Ouzel Creek is raging with snow melt. And the falls were massive. Sighted a young moose on our way to the trailhead. Nice to be able to visit this less visited part of the park.

My next bike ride is a modified version of what the locals call the Glen Haven loop. I called my version the Glen Haven Super Loop because it was double the distance and double the elevation. I rode from Lyons to Loveland to Drake to Glen Haven to Estes Park and back to Lyons. Almost a full day of riding. The climb out of Glen Haven was brutally steep. But the descents into Estes Park and into Lyons made it worth the effort.

Our third day in RMNP, we did the Bear Lake Corridor. The busiest part of the park. They have a shuttle to all of the trailheads which is nice. We were patient and lucky enough to get a parking spot at Bear Lake so didn’t need to shuttle. Our plan was to hike the Four Lakes loop but once we got close to 10,000 feet elevation there was still alot of snow on the trail. We turned back after the 3rd lake and attacked the trail from the other side. We were able to hike to Alberta Falls which is incredible this time of year. I really enjoyed this hike.

Using the first segment of my previous ride, I was able to find a nice route for Emi and I through the farm and pasture lands of Hygiene, Colorado. Very serene. Cool to see lots of other fellow cyclists out. We knocked this ride out early because it hit 90 degrees in the afternoon. Hung out in the shade and in the AC of the trailer the rest of the day.

We drove down to Denver for a day trip. It was supposed to be another 90+ degree day but luckily some cloud cover and even a brief rain shower kept the temps down some. We had an awesome day. It is nice to change things up and do some urban exploring. We walked around the RiNo Art District to see all the great street murals. A stop at one of my favorite breweries — Odell Brewing Co. A boozy donut treat from Habit Doughnut Dispensary. Emi thought we were trying a new donut place but we had been there on our last trip to Denver. Ha! We did the wildlife driving tour thru Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge. Lots of bison, deer, and prairie dogs. Great place to visit.

Our last day in RMNP, we did the Lily Mountain trail. Tough rock scramble to the summit but wow the views were amazing. You could see several peaks including the popular Long’s Peak. Definitely worth the effort to get to the top.

Well that does it for Lyons and Rocky Mountain National Park.

On to our next stop, Laramie, Wyoming…