Rocky Mountain National Park

The 48-mile Trail Ridge Road is the park's signature experience, climbing from Estes Park over 12,183 feet of alpine tundra before descending to Grand Lake on the west side. Stop at the Alpine Visitor Center — the highest in the National Park System — and walk the Tundra Communities Trail for a close look at tiny alpine wildflowers that bloom in just 6 weeks of growing season. The Many Parks Curve and Rainbow Curve overlooks provide dramatic valleys-and-peaks panoramas. Elk are frequently seen from the road in summer, especially near dusk. The road opens late May through mid-October, weather permitting.

Dream Lake is the park's most popular trail — a 2.2-mile round trip past Nymph Lake and Emerald Lake viewpoints to a stunning alpine lake framed by Hallett Peak. Sky Pond is the ultimate trophy hike — a 9.4-mile round trip that climbs past two waterfalls and requires scrambling to a high alpine lake beneath soaring granite walls. Emerald Lake extends the Dream Lake experience to 3.2 miles round trip with three pristine mountain lakes. Longs Peak (14,259 feet) is Colorado's most challenging 14er via the Keyhole Route — a 14+ mile, 5,000-foot gain scramble that requires an early alpine start and solid fitness.

Rocky Mountain's elk herd numbers over 3,000 animals, and the fall rut in September and October is one of the park's most dramatic wildlife spectacles. Bull elk bugle, spar, and herd their harems in the meadows around Moraine Park and Horseshoe Park — visible from the road at dawn and dusk. Bighorn sheep can be spotted at Sheep Lakes and along Trail Ridge Road. Marmots and pikas populate the alpine tundra, and moose are increasingly seen in the Kawuneeche Valley on the west side. The park's timed-entry permit system limits summer access, so plan ahead.