Chapter 27: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
- traci wilson
- Jul 12
- 6 min read
For this stop we got a site at Lakeside KOA in Fort Collins Colorado. We stayed at this location for three days, but only spent one of them in the national park, so that’s the focus of this blog post. I will say that Lakeside KOA is a nice campground with level paved sites. You can get a site with a hot tub and barbeque grill if you’re willing to pay the extra money. We opted for the basic back-in site with full hookups, but it was easy to get into and a nice location overall. They have a pool, playground, mini golf—all the activities that make a campground experience more than just a place to park. Unfortunately, it was extremely hot during our stay so we opted to hang out in the air conditioned trailer if we weren’t out and about.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most popular national parks in the country and in order to keep the crowds under control and the natural areas pristine, there is a controlled entry reservation system for the park. Of course, as per our repeated experience on this trip, we didn’t realize that in time to make reservations. There is still hope if you’re like us and didn’t do your research in advance—you must be at the gate before 9 a.m. for the main part of the park. If you want to go hiking in the Bear Lake section, the most popular area in the park, you must get to the gate before 5 a.m. if you don’t have a reservation.
As it turns out, we did want to hike in the Bear Lake area but getting there before 5 was not doable because of the puppies. We had done enough research in advance to know dogs aren’t allowed on any of the park trails, so we arranged for doggie daycare. The only problem was, we couldn’t drop them off before 7:30 a.m. so the early entry wasn’t going to work. Still, all was not lost! Dave did some digging and found out that every day at 7 p.m. the park releases a limited number of reservations good for the following day. So, with fingers crossed, we waited for the 7 o’clock hour to see if we would get lucky and snag a reservation for Bear Lake Trailhead.
As fate would have it, we lucked out and were able to secure a reservation for Bear Lake between 8-10 a.m. It’s a really good thing we did because when we got to the park gate around 8:45 a.m. there was a super long, slow line! We wouldn’t have made it by 9 a.m. having to drop off the dogs then drive more than an hour to get there (Ft. Collins is about 45 miles from the park entrance).
Even with the controlled entry, the Bear Lake area was packed. There were two trailheads currently open on the day we were there and both were completely full by 9 a.m. We had to park in the park and ride and catch a shuttle the rest of the way to the Bear Lake Trailhead. I’ve never seen so many people at a trailhead before! Even so, the shuttle system ran smoothly and we didn’t have to wait long.
We started our hike at the Bear Lake Trailhead, but we didn’t actually hike to Bear Lake, which was only a half mile long. Instead, we opted for a greater challenge and went the other direction towards several other high mountain lakes. The elevation starting out was 9,475 feet and we climbed from there. We thought we’d had enough time to acclimate to the thinner air at the high elevations since we’d just come from two days in Colorado Springs, with a base elevation of just over 6,000 feet and gaining from there depending on what we were doing, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Dave did better than me, probably because I was also fighting a cold which made breathing difficult anyway. I was really struggling to catch my breath as we climbed, so much so, I had to keep stopping to rest.
We took our time, stopping as much as necessary, and worked our way up the mountain. As difficult as this hike felt, it was so worth it. What an absolutely beautiful and breathtaking—in more ways than one—place! We saw four alpine lakes with a total elevation gain of 1,085 feet. Each of the lakes had its own unique characteristics. The first, Nymph Lake, was small and picturesque, surrounded by evergreens and an abundance of wildflowers including blooming waterlilies floating on its mirror like surface. We were thrilled to happen across two huge male elk with large racks grazing lazily just off the trail! I’ve never seen elk that big! We kept climbing another half mile or so to Dream Lake, which was much larger than Nymph and reflected the towering peaks of the Rockies in its crystal clear water. In fact, the water was so clear you could actually see the rainbow trout swimming around—so fun we stayed for a while just to watch!
The whole area was magnificent, with breathtaking views of the higher peaks once the sky cleared. I understand why they call this mountain range the Rockies, because it was very rocky indeed! We ended up at Emerald Lake, a beautiful pristine lake surrounded by large rocks, where we rested and ate our lunch as we gazed out across yet another pristine mountain lake. On the opposite side and far up the mountain was a beautiful waterfall that kept drawing my eye. I love waterfalls! Emerald lake was the main destination for most of the people hiking this area and when we got there we had a hard time finding a spot because people were sitting all over the rocks surrounding the lake. So many people, it’s hard to imagine what would happen to this lovely area if they didn’t do a controlled entry! A few brave (read, young) souls jumped in the lake and swam across the icy waters to the opposite bank. From their hoots and hollers as they hit the water I could tell it was icy cold!
From Emerald Lake, you can turn around and go back down the mountain for a total distance of just over three miles. There are several junctions with other trails, offering even more opportunities to take in this rich country if you want more. One such junction is the Haiyaha Lake Trail, a1.2 mile climb to—you guessed it—Haiyaha Lake. We debated for a few minutes whether we wanted to do more climbing after I’d struggled so much with my breathing, but we’d originally planned to include this trail and I’d been doing a little better since the turnaround, so we decided to go for it!
Again, we took our time with the accent, stopping to rest when needed. Haiyaha Lake was pretty, but it was surrounded by huge boulders that we had to scramble over just to get a look at the lake, inhibiting our ability to get anywhere close. All the rocks worth sitting on were already taken, so we didn’t stay very long. The best part of this trail wasn’t the lake but the amazing views. It crested at the top of a ridge revealing a sweeping panorama of the mountains in the distance and valley below. I’m afraid of heights—I’ve probably mentioned that a time or two— but this trail was totally worth the discomfort! Our total distance between the two trails ended up being 5.65 miles. We rode the shuttle back to where we’d parked the truck several hours earlier, feeling worn out but accomplished.
On a final note—I want to give a big shout out to Fort Collins. I really enjoyed this city for the brief time we were here. It has a lovely downtown area and a hoping craft beer scene, no pun intended. In fact, we learned that Disneyland’s Main Street was patterned after downtown Fort Collins! Since Dave and I are huge Disney fans, that little fun fact was super cool. The town itself has a really nice, easy going vibe, and is a great place if you’re an outdoor enthusiast. I’ve never seen such an extensive hiking/biking trail system through a city before. We enjoyed Fort Collins so much, in fact, that if it weren’t for all the snow they get in the winter and the higher than average cost of living, we might consider moving here. But we do love Oregon so I don’t think there’s too much of a risk of us relocating any time soon!
Next stop, Grand Teton National Park, followed by Yellowstone National Park. Our sixteen week epic trip across the U.S. is coming to a close soon, with less than two weeks remaining until we’re home. Wow, I can’t believe it’s almost over!
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