Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the few of the high profile parks I didn’t have  a chance to visit on summer family trips as a kid. I made this trip with a guy I was dating at the time in June of 2012, we had an wonderful trip exploring Denver, hiking the park and camping despite raging forest fires. RMNP is officially on the record as one of my favorite national parks. A great spot for camping, hiking, and exploring the mountains at your own pace.

EXPERIENCE

We flew into Denver, spent a little time exploring the local scene then hopped in our vacation appropriate Jeep and headed for the park. We ended up with an amazing campsite, and devoted the rest of the trip to hiking and scenic drives. Favorite hikes included Chasm Lake, Emerald Lake, Bear Lake and Lake Haiyaha. We took a gorgeous day drive up to the tundra portion of the park, where we caught an interesting ranger show about glaciers, elk activity and Native American tribes. The hikes were absolutely breathtaking in terms of mountain vistas, valley steams, and wildlife sightings.

 In addition to outdoor adventures right in the park, we explored the small town of Estes Park nearby. Here we did horseback riding on one of the many local ranches. We both happen to be big movie buffs, so we weathered one really warm rainy evening in the air conditioning of a very old and charming local movie theater, Historic Park Theater.

STAY

Though I haven’t done it any other way. I cannot imagine there is a better way to experience RMNP than to camp. We stayed in Moraine Camp Ground (more specifically Loop A, Site A124) and agreed it was the loveliest campsite either of us had ever experienced.  The nights were cool, even in the summer, so bring lots of layers and cool weather gear. We also happened to be here during the fires, so we were lucky to have a camping stove along since campfires were not allowed.

EAT

While in the park we primarily ate camping food. Before leaving Denver for the park, we hit a great little breakfast spot for stuffed doughnut holes, called Jelly. This place was charming and had a hip, typical Denver vibe. On our way out of Colorado, we were relived to have a first post-camping meal at a lovely pizza (and way more than pizza spot) called Osteria Marco. This was a very cute spot on the main drag and a great last meal of charcuterie and pie before heading out.