Rocky Mountain National Park secret entrance is the best

Rocky Mountain National Park am ColoradoThe most famous national park site, and the most visited national park in the United States covering thousands of square miles of Alpine forests, granite mountains, and snow-covered tundra, the dramatic landscape of the Rocky Mountain National Park is a sight to see.

In addition to the dramatic view, the “main” entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park is just one and a half hours from Denver, Colorado, making it one of the more accessible national parks in the system.

The Estes Park entrance to the east of Rocky Mountain welcomes thousands of guests daily during the peak season. The park is so popular that it has implemented the time entry system, with the required bookings between 9am and 2pm (and additional bookings needed for Bear Lake Road between 6am and 5pm). Even with bookings, the waiting time at the park entrance can be more than 40-60 minutes, especially on weekends.

If you are like me, wait in the line in your car and sound your horns as you fight for parking is not your idea for a good time in the National Park. That’s why I’m not going anywhere near Estes Park, Bear Lake, or any route to the east of the park.

Instead, I used the “secret entrance” of the Rocky Mountain National Park in the Grand Lake, stuck from the chaos on the west side of the park. Without the crowds and a lot of scenery to enjoy, I almost forgot it was one of the busiest outings of the year.

The “secret” entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park

Okay, so the Grand Lake Rocky Mountain National Park entrance may not be a “secret”, but it definitely feels like that when you drive. Despite being in front and center on the park map, the Denver Grand Lake distance makes it less popular than Estes Park.

Although the start line is formed at Estes Park as early as 7am, two hours before the booking requirements begin, Grand Lake has almost no life (human).

I appeared at the Grand Lake entrance at 7am on Sunday Weekend Labor, one of the busiest weekends for many national parks in the United States unlike the chaos in Estes Park, I was driving to the Ranger booth, where the QR code welcomed me, reminding me to pay my entrance fee.

Please, even if there are no rangers in the booth, make sure you pay your entrance fee for the National Park.

The entrance fee was paid, I started walking to the Ridge Trail Road, a beautiful route connecting the Grand Lake to Estes Park via Rocky Mountain.

The first part of the park was dominated by a burning area, where a troubling fire destroyed the forest in 2020. When a burning log gave a way to a dense evergreen forest, I found myself in a hidden paradise, removed from the crowd. When early in the morning began to lift the park, the real Rocky Mountain adventure began.

What to do near the best entrance of Rocky Mountain

The Secret Grand Entrance entrance is not just the winner because of how easy it is to enter. Once in the garden, the miracle keeps coming.

Rocky Mountain National Park is known for its dramatic increase, especially to the Alpine Lakes, which is stuck at the top of the granite. The Emerald Lake Trail, Bear Lake Loop, and Chasm Lake Trail are three of the most popular hikes at the Rocky Mountain National Park, nearly near the Estes Park entrance.

Unfortunately, everyone knows how amazing the route is, and the parking lot can fill it quickly, and the route can feel more like a line in the grocery store than a beautiful increase.

However, the Grand Lake Rocky Mountain entrance, there are many beautiful routes to explore, and even during peak hours on the weekend of labor, there is no parking on the west and even one -third of the full road.

My favorite route near the Grand Lake entrance

The first trail I went to was Coyote Valley TrailTraces a simple stone along the wedding meadows of the valley. Even at 7am, I have a trace for myself, well, mostly. About thirty seconds into my hike, I found myself staring at a large moose cow in the middle of the meadow, with a lot of evil wandering in an open area.

Coyote Valley Trail

After watching Moose for a few minutes, I stepped towards the trail, which resembled a quiet flow. At the end of the trail, I sat on my bench and saw a bunch of deer pass through the trees. When I was sitting there, being alone, watching wildlife, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the people who knocked their shoulders for the same view across the park.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a high height park, starting at 7,500 feet above sea level and leading more than 12,000 feet. Even the simplest increase can be a challenge for those who are unfamiliar with height.

Legs and lungs are all warm, I decide it’s time to see what’s happening in Rocky Mountain. Just a few minutes on the road from Coyote Valley, I found Trailhead Timber Lake. A 10.6 miles increase with a height of 2,000 feet in the first half, Lake Timber Track is one of the longest and most heavy in the garden. It’s perfect.

The large parking lot didn’t have more than six cars when I arrived at 7:30, even though it was a busy weekend. Over the next 6 hours when I went up, lunch in the lake, and back down, I really felt I had found a secret paradise. I was alone on the route most of the time, and, about 10,000 people visiting the park that day, only had to share the lake views with 15 of them.

Lake Timber Track

The quiet trail was trafficked by Moose, and when I only saw their trail, I saw a lot of small mammals and various birds. I also saw a glimpse of young bobcat flowing logs. The advantage of a quiet trail? Wildlife does not feel the need to avoid it.

Some of the traces are now washed due to active landslides. Two parts of the trail are washed and covered in large logs, which pedestrians need to fight to continue the increase.

Both of these hikes, together with a beautiful drive to the highest point of the Trail Ridge Road, rounded up my one day at the Rocky Mountain National Park. They also taught me something important about Rocky Mountain’s secret entrance – it’s just as beautiful and satisfying as half of the more popular parks, and much safer.

How to get into the secret door of Rocky Mountain National Park

Now that I have drawn a beautiful picture of the quiet paradise in one of the most national parks in the country, the big question is, how can one get to the Rocky Mountain National Park secret entrance?

While flying to Denver is probably the first choice for many tourists entering Estes Park, I found a better way to get to the park and the secret entrance. I caught California Zephyr Amtrak, jumped at Salt Lake City, Utah and took it to Granby city trapped and obsessed.

Located just 20 minutes from the Grand Lake entrance, Taking Amtrak to Rocky Mountain National Park is very easyAnd make it more realistic to get to the less fortunate park.

In addition to making it easy to get to the Grand Lake entrance, riding California Zephyr from Salt Lake to Granby means I can enjoy The most beautiful view on the iconic amtrak pathand save my energy for the park itself.

Rocky Mountain National Park is probably one of the most popular national parks in the United States, but that does not mean that there is still no quiet angle waiting to be explored. Take it from someone who is there, the Grand Lake entrance and the climbing path may be just the best secret Rocky Mountain.