I had always heard a lot about Rocky Mountain National Park and the area around Denver. During May 14-16, 2021, Anu and I decided to visit the park. This trip was a part of a larger US trip that Anu and I did from May 6 – June 3, 2021. Here is a link to a summary blog of the Palnitkar US Trip – May 6 – June 3, 2021.
Friday, May 14, 2021: Colorado Springs
We flew in from Houston and landed in Denver at 9 am on Fri, May 14. We rented a car and drove straight to Colorado Springs, about 1.5 hours south of Denver.
The first attraction was Pike’s Peak. Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent 14,115-foot fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike.
There is a motorable road that goes to the top of the mountain. The last 3 miles were closed because they were renovating a visitor center at the peak. We drove till about 12,500 ft elevation and then the road was closed. We got some really nice pictures of the area. There was no hiking, just driving.
We finished Pike’s Peak at around 12 noon and then headed to Cave of the Winds, an amusement park with zip lining, adventure sports etc. A lot of people had recommended it, but we did not find it too fascinating. Personal preference, I guess…
Then we went to the Garden of the Gods, a free park maintained by the city of Colorado Springs. It has some interesting rock formations. It also has a balanced rock that is a rock precariously balanced on top of another. Interesting photo. 
Finally at around 4 pm, we went to Seven Falls. The Broadmoor Seven Falls is a series of seven cascading waterfalls of South Cheyenne Creek in South Cheyenne Cañon, Colorado Springs, Colorado. It has been a privately-owned tourist attraction since it was opened in the early 1880s. We went to the gate and found that there are no parking nearby and we had to take a shuttle. So we decided to skip it.
We stayed at the La Quinta Inn in Lakewood, near Denver.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
We had originally planned to do the Mt. Ida trek about 6 hours. So we decided to reach the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) at 8.00 am. We left Lakewood at 5.30 am and reached RMNP at 8.10 am. We drove on Continental Divide Trail Ridge Road for towards the trek starting point and after 10 miles we realized our mistake. Since it was May, the further road to Grand Lake was closed and there was no way we could do the Mt. Ida trek, it would be completely snowed out. We had not accounted for that.
So we parked at the point where the road was closed. We were already at about 11,000 ft. Interestingly, for the next 3 miles, the road was open to pedestrians and cyclists. So we decided to do a small 6 mile (10 km) trek (on the paved road) to Forest Canyon Overlook and back. We saw some stunning views of the Rockies at 12,800 ft, including Long’s Peak (14,259 ft), Mt. Julian. We also met a lady who had done the John Muir Trail about 35 years earlier. Since we were planning to do JMT in August, we got some tips from her. It took us about 2:30 hrs to complete the 10 km Forest Canyon Overlook trek at a leisurely pace.
One interesting fact that we learned is the Continental Divide. The Continental Divide of the Americas is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan. The watersheds to the west of the divide drain into the Pacific Ocean while the river systems to the east of the divide drain into the Atlantic Ocean.
We got back to the car and drove back down to the only trek that was open, the Deer Mountain Trek. All other treks were closed due to snow. Deer Mountain was at about 10,000 ft elevation, so we expected an easy trek. It was anything but easy. Snow started at at about 8,000 ft and continued till the top of the mountain. Without spikes, it was very difficult to do. The trek was about 6.2 miles (10.4 km) round trip with 1,800 ft of elevation gain. It took us about 3:20 hrs to finish the trek due to extremely snowy conditions.
We then drove to Bear Lake. The lake was formed during the ice age by a glacier. Several moraines can be found downhill of Bear Lake. The lake was so frozen over that we did not even realize that it was a lake.
Finally, at around 6 pm, we headed out to Estes Park, a town just outside RMNP. It is a cozy town where we stayed the night. We had Antonio’s Pizza at Estes Park.
Sunday, May 16, 2021
We woke up at around 6 am to find Estes Park bathed in glorious morning sunlight. We got ready and went to Longmont (1 hour drive) to meet Omkar Purandare, a friend’s son. He works at Western Digital. Longmont is considered the hub of the storage industry. We spent some time in his apartment and then headed to Boulder to visit the Flatiron mountains, that look like the base of three steam irons.
The Flatirons are rock formations near Boulder, Colorado, consisting of flatirons. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south (First through Fifth, respectively) along the east slope of Green Mountain (elev. 8,148 ft or 2,484 m), and the term “The Flatirons” sometimes refers to these five alone. The trek started from Chautauqua Park, a famous park in Boulder, CO.
We learned about Chautauqua that was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day. Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying that Chautauqua is “the most American thing in America.
Starting from Chautauqua park, we then did the Royal Arch Trail, a 4.2 mile (6.68 km) with a 1,850 ft elevation gain that took us to a point with a great view of Boulder, CO. That day turned out to be cloudy, but the feeling at the top was fantastic. It took us 2:25 hrs to complete the trek.
We then toured University of Colorado at Boulder (I remember having applied there for my Master’s in 1990). Omkar had graduated from UC Boulder.
Finally, around 2 pm, we went to Qdoba, a Mexican place for lunch and then headed out to Denver airport for our flight back to Houston at 6 pm.
It was a fantastic trip with 3 very good treks in 3 days and some amazing views. We fell in love with RMNP. We plan to go back sometime in summer when more treks are open.
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Quick Note:
This trip was a part of a larger US trip that we undertook from May 6 – June 3, 2021. We did travels during this US trip. I have also written detailed blogs about each individual travel. If you are interested, you will find links to those detailed blogs below.
Palnitkar US Trip – May 6- June 3, 2021 – Detailed Blog
Sahil’s Graduation Ceremony – May 13 – Detailed Blog
Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, May 14-16 – Detailed Blog
Houston Shooting Range Experience – May 20 – Detailed Blog
Alaska Visit May 21-27 – Detailed Blog
Yellowstone and Grand Teton – May 28 – June 1 – Detailed Blog
