Rocky Mountain National Park is located in northeastern Colorado, flanked by the cities of Estes Park in the east and Grand Lake in the west. Other nearby cities include Lyon, Winter Park, Granby and Boulder. Rock climbing and mountaineering have long been a popular activity in Rocky Mountain National Park. With numerous peaks over 12,000 feet, 20 of them over 13,000 feet, this park attracts climbers from all over the world.
More than a century later, his prediction has come true and something else. Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is one of Colorado's most popular attractions, attracting 4.5 million annual visitors to its 415 square miles of mountain beauty. While some 710 preserved artifacts and specimens that tell the story of the Rocky Mountains are displayed in the park at visitor centers and historic sites, the entire collection consists of 33,465 cultural objects, 294 works of art, 10,495 biological specimens, and 455 geological specimens.
Thanks to the park's elevation range and protected status, the Rocky Mountains offer diverse terrain for a wide variety of flowering plants, including the Colorado State flower, the Colorado Columbine. Read on to learn about the many things you can do in Rocky Mountain National Park, such as wildlife viewing and scenic drives. You can walk to Moraine Park from the parking lot to do the Deer Mountain hike (but this lot is very small).
However, the RMNP is already one of the most visited national parks in the United States. The huge glaciers that originally sculpted the natural environment of the Rocky Mountains have long since disappeared, although there are still several smaller glaciers at the higher elevations of the park. The Rocky Mountain Museum collection preserves artifacts and specimens that tell the story of the park, from household items that were part of historic houses in the park and historic photos to watercolors and oil paintings of the park landscape. If you have any questions about the best things to do in Rocky Mountain National Park, please let us know in the comments section below.
With 415 square miles of recreational and nature viewing opportunities, it's no surprise that Rocky Mountain National Park is visited by more than 4.5 million people a year. In fact, the park's Alpine Visitor Center has the highest elevation (11,796 feet) of all National Park Service visitor centers.
At the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, the historic village of Estes Park offers shopping and dining in a picturesque Alpine resort setting. Preserve the high-elevation ecosystems and wild characters of the southern Rocky Mountains within its borders and provide the freest recreational use and access to the park's scenic beauties, wildlife, natural features and processes, and cultural objects.