Rocky Mountain National Park is a place that needs little introduction; with a dramatic landscape dotted with towering peaks, it’s exactly what you’d imagine when you think of Colorado. After seeing it ourselves, we think everyone should visit it at least once. As it turns out we’re not the only ones who think so – Rocky Mountain National Park is the 3rd most visited national park in the United States, right behind the Great Smoky Mountains and the Grand Canyon.
If you’re planning a trip to visit RMNP, no doubt you’ve seen plenty of accommodations in the town of Estes Park, which is considered the primary “gateway” community for the park. It totally makes sense – 2 of the 4 entrances to RMNP are adjacent to Estes Park, and some of the most popular and scenic areas are on the eastern side of the park (especially the Bear Lake corridor). Plus being on the eastern side of the park is closer to more populated areas like Denver and Boulder. It’s no wonder, then, that about 80% of all park visitors enter through Estes Park.
Because of its popularity, Estes Park can not only get crowded during peak season, but it can also feel a bit touristy. If you’re looking for a quieter, more traditional and “real” Colorado feel, we suggest staying in the other gateway community to RMNP, on its western side – Grand Lake.
Why Grand Lake?
Being further from “civilization” and having less park facilities and attractions than the Estes Park side of RMNP, Grand Lake is considered by many to be the best kept secret of Rocky Mountain National Park. Whereas Estes Park is geared primarily toward RMNP visitors, Grand Lake is more of a typical vacation/getaway town, with dozens of pontoon boats dotting the lake during the summer. In fact, during our stay, it seemed like most people staying in Grand Lake were more interested in boating or water sports than hiking – but we were there in June!
There is also a quaint, lovely downtown area which is just a block away from the shores of the lake (where there’s a nice little beach area) making the entire town very walkable. If you have little ones, there is a great public playground smack dab in the middle of town right next to town hall.
Grand Lake is Great for Family Hiking!
Despite not being the “hiker’s side” of the park, there are still plenty of trail options, especially easier ones that are perfect for families with young kids. Most of these trails are less than a 15 minute drive from the entrance of the park (which is only about a 5 minute drive from downtown Grand Lake). Some of the trailheads can even be accessed without actually going through the park entrance (you’ll still need a park pass, though), since the town is practically surrounded by the National Park.
And if you like more of a challenge for your hikes, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail basically runs right through Grand Lake.
It should be noted, though, that the area surrounding Grand Lake was heavily affected by wildfires in the fall of 2020. The damage can be clearly seen on many of the hills and mountains overlooking Grand Lake, and the fires even extended into parts of RMNP (two separate fires spread into the park, affecting a combined 30,000 acres). At the time of our visit, many of the western park trails were closed due to fire damage, which included many of the trails immediately adjacent to Grand Lake. These trails will eventually reopen, however the timeline is currently unknown.
We hiked a trail outside of the national park, right by the Grand Lake Golf Course, which took us right through one of the heavily burned areas. It was very humbling and a bit depressing to see so much damage. But we used this as a opportunity to teach Hunter about forest fires, about how sometimes they are necessary to keep a forest healthy, but that they are also very dangerous and that we need to do our part in preventing them (cue Smokey the Bear).
Great for Nature Lovers!
Another perk of staying on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park is that there are many opportunities to view wildlife, especially moose. During our 4-day stay, we saw at least one moose each day (one time wasn’t even inside the park, but rather just in a local neighborhood!).
Kimberly and I have lived almost our whole lives in the southeastern U.S., so getting to see some moose was really special. We never realized just how enormous they are until seeing them in real life. Hunter loved seeing them too, and says that it was one of his favorite parts of the trip. We also saw a bunch of mule deer as well; those were also very large compared to the whitetail deer that we’re used to seeing east of the Mississippi.
We always enjoy visiting zoos and seeing animals there, but seeing them in the wild is an even more special treat!
Overall, we chose Grand Lake as a vacation destination because we wanted to relax and enjoy a real Rocky Mountain vacation – and it met or exceeded all of our expectations.
Have you been to Grand Lake or are you thinking about going? Or have you been to another area nearby that you would also recommend? We’d love to hear your feedback!
And if you’re planning a long drive out that way (or anywhere else), check out our recent posts about packing for road trips and taking road trips with babies and toddlers.
