The park has five visitor centers. The park headquarters,
Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, is a National Historic Landmark, designed by the
Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West. The park may be accessed by three roads: U.S. Highway 34,
36, and State Highway 7. Highway 7 enters the park for less than a mile, where
it provides access to the Lily Lake Visitor Center which is closed
indefinitely. Farther south, spurs from route 7 lead to campgrounds and trail
heads around Longs Peak and Wild Basin. Highway 36 enters the park on the east
side, where it terminates after a few miles at Highway 34. Highway 34, known as
Trail Ridge Road through the park, runs from the town of Estes Park on the east
to Grand Lake on the southwest. The road reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet
(3,713 m), and is closed by snow in winter.
The California Zephyr serves Granby (near the west entrance
of the park) by rail from Denver, crossing the Continental Divide through the
Moffat Tunnel well south of the park. The park's website suggests Granby as an
appropriate rail terminus for visitors, although it lies about sixteen miles
from the park without public transportation connections. The park is surrounded by Roosevelt National Forest on the
north and east, Routt National Forest on the northwest, and Arapaho National
Forest on the southwest.
Geography
Map of Colorado. The area of the Rocky Mountain National
Park is in dark red.
Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses 265,761 acres
(415.25 sq mi; 1,075.50 km2) of land in Colorado's northern Front Range. The park is split by the Continental Divide, which gives the
eastern and western portions of the park a different character. The east side
of the park tends to be drier, with heavily glaciated peaks and cirques. The
west side of the park is wetter and more lush, with deep forests
dominating. The park contains 359 miles (578 km) of trails, 150 lakes,
and 450 miles (720 km) of streams. The park contains 72 named peaks higher than
12,000 feet (3,700 m), and over one fourth of the park resides above tree line.
The highest point of the park is Longs Peak, which rises to 14,259 feet (4,346
m; surveys before 2002 show 14,255 feet (4,345 m)) above sea level. On the
north side of the park, the Mummy Range contains a number of smaller thirteener peaks, including
Hagues Peak, Mummy Mountain, Fairchild Mountain, Ypsilon Mountain, and Mount
Chiquita. Several small glaciers and permanent snowfields are found in
the high mountain cirques, including Andrews, Sprague, Tyndall, Taylor, Rowe,
Mills, and Moomaw Glaciers.
History
Evidence has shown that Native Americans have visited the
area of the park for the last 10,000 years. Their influence in the region was
limited, however, and their visits often transitory. The Ute Tribe visited the
west side of the park, particularly around Grand Lake. The Arapaho visited and
hunted in the Estes Park region. The Long Expedition, led by Stephen H. Long, for whom Longs
Peak was named,visited the area in 1820, though they never entered the
mountains.
In 1859 while on a hunting expedition, Joel Estes and his
son discovered the meadows that eventually became Estes Park. He moved his
family there in 1860 and raised cattle. He stayed only until 1866, forced out
by long, harsh winters. In the next years, settlers and homesteaders staked
their claims in the Estes Park region. Tourists, particularly those interested
in climbing the high peaks of the region, appeared after this time.
In 1880 a small mining rush began in the Never Summer
Mountains. The mining town of Lulu City was established with great fanfare and
promotion by the media, particularly by Fort Collins newspapers. The ore mined,
however, was low grade; by 1883 the rush went bust, and most of the residents
moved on. A satellite town, Dutchtown, was abandoned by 1884.
Enos Mills, then a 14-year-old boy, moved to Estes Park in
1884. He explored the mountains of the area and wrote many books and articles
describing the region. He later supported the creation of Rocky Mountain
National Park, and he split his time between the mountains he loved and the
cities of the eastern United States, where he lobbied for the legislation to
create the park. The legislation was drafted by James Grafton Rogers, a Denver
lawyer and avid outdoorsman. Mills' original proposal for park boundaries went
from Wyoming all the way down to the Mount Evans area, including areas such as
the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Much of the land was favored for mining, logging,
and other operations, however, so the proposed park was reduced to an area approximating
the current park borders. The bill passed Congress and was signed by President
Woodrow Wilson on January 26, 1915. A formal dedication ceremony was held on
September 4, 1915 in Horseshoe Park. The park has expanded over the years, with
the largest parcel — the Never Summer Range — added in 1929.
The 1920s saw a boom in building lodges and roads in the
park, culminating with the construction of Trail Ridge Road between 1929 and
1933. The Civilian Conservation Corps handled several building projects during
the Great Depression and remnants of their camps can be found in the park
today. On June 24, 2010, a wildfire burned over 1,500 acres (6.1
km2) of the park in Larimer County near Estes Park. Estes Park Fire Department
believed that lightning may have started the fire.
Popular areas
Longs Peak seen from Dream Lake trail
The park is dominated by Longs Peak, which is visible from
many vantage points, and has an elevation of 14,259 feet (4,346 m). Each year
thousands of people attempt to scale it. The easiest route is the Keyhole
Route, impassable to regular hikers in all but the hottest summer months due to
snow and ice. This eight-mile (13 km) one-way climb has an elevation gain of
4,850 ft (1,480 m). The vast east face, including the area known as The
Diamond, is home to many classic big wall rock climbing routes. Not all leave Longs Peak alive and safe. There is a stone
gazebo at the Keyhole formation with a plaque memorializing Agnes Vaille, a
well-known climber in the 1920s. In January 1925, Vaille fell 100 ft (30 m)
while descending the North Face. Vaille survived the fall with minor injuries,
but was unable to walk. Her climbing partner, professional mountaineering guide
Walter Kiener, went for help; but when rescuers arrived, Vaille had died of
fatigue and hypothermia. One of the rescuers, Herbert Sortland, froze to death
after breaking his hip while trying to rescue her.
Hallett Peak
Bear Lake, in the heart of the park, is a popular
destination and trailhead. The lake lies below Hallett Peak and the Continental
Divide. Several trails start from the lake, ranging from easy strolls to
strenuous hikes. Bear Lake Road is open year round, though it may close
temporarily due to bad weather.
Grand Lake
Trail Ridge Road connects the town of Estes Park in the east
with Grand Lake in the west. The road reaches an altitude of 12,183 feet (3,713
m), with long stretches above tree line. It passes the Alpine Visitors' Center,
a popular destination, and crosses the Continental Divide at Milner Pass.
Numerous short interpretive trails and pullouts along the road serve to educate
the visitor on the history, geography, and ecology of the park. The southern area of the park is Wild Basin, a wild and
remote region. Several trails cross the area and backpacking it is popular. The Mummy Range is a short mountain range in the north of
the park. The Mummies tend to be gentler and more forested than the other peaks
in the park, though some slopes are rugged and heavily glaciated, particularly
around Ypsilon Mountain and Mummy Mountain.
The snow-capped Never Summer Mountains are found in the west
side of the park. Here the south-trending Continental Divide takes a brief
sharp northward loop, which creates an interesting reverse scenario, where the
Pacific Basin is on the east side of the divide and the Atlantic Basin on the
west. The mountains themselves, the result of volcanic activity, are craggy
and, more often than not, covered in deep snow. This area saw the most
extensive mining in the park, and trails lead past old mines and ghost towns.
Paradise Park is hidden in the peaks above Grand Lake. This
rugged and wild area has no trails penetrating it.
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