Three Days or A Weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, CO Schedule- Estes Park near the Rocky Mountain National Park is a great place to explore the mountains and enjoy the small town. You can play and snowshoe in the winter here but I think summer months such as June, July or August are the best for hiking and outdoor adventures. In those months you can hike, raft, climb, horseback ride and more in Estes Park. I put together a schedule to map out all the best hikes, where to eat, where to drink, and excursions for two days or a short weekend trip! Including where to stay, camp, or other things to do in the area of the Rocky Mountains.
This itinerary is best for the summer months, and on that does mind a decent hike. These hikes won’t take all day but are high elevation and distance. This schedule will be hiking in the morning and relaxing in the evenings.
A Short Outline By Day
1: Arrive, Bear Lake Hikes
2: Hike Sky Pond, Estes Park in the evening
3: Trail Ridge Road, Mt. Ida and Depart
Overview
How To Get There
We came from the Denver Airport to get to Estes Park. We came from Cincinnati, Ohio. The drive from Denver Airport to Estes Park is about a 1 hour and 30 minutes drive.
Where To Stay
Camping
We were in a KuKu Campers campervan, so we stayed at the Mary’s Lake Campground. It was a perfect location for hiking in the National Park, as it was a very close drive. It is only a 10 minute drive to the Beaver Meadows Entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The campground is only about a 10 minute drive to get to the heart of the Estes Park town. This gave us the option that we could still go into town for dinner or drinks.
If you can reserve far enough ahead of time you can also camp inside of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Non-Camping Options
If not camping or campvaning then I would consider an AirBnB. Here is a list of the Best AirBnB’s Near The Rocky Mountain National Park (both in Estes Park and Grand Lake, or check out this map. There are a variety of rentals that are in downtown and cozy mountain rentals.
When To Go
If interested in snowshoeing or hiking during their snow season typically runs from November to April. But I think the beauty of this area is best enjoyed in the summer. And if you can plan for July. It could be hot but this is the best time to avoid snow fields along many hikes.
Three Day Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive
We came from the Denver area to the Estes Park town. On our way we stopped at an REI and Trader Joe’s to get some freeze dried camping meals and some fresh groceries. The drive from Denver Airport to Estes Park is about a 1 hour and 30 minutes drive.
Bear Lake Hikes
After we checked in we took off for our first set of hikes in the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was evening by this time, so we knew we didn’t want to set out on anything too long. And Bear Lake Area has tons of short hikes, we could have some options in this area for many short hikes. So we choose this area first, they also all start at the same trailhead, Bear Lake Trailhead.
Since these hikes are shorter they are good for acclimating to the altitude. If coming from a low altitude area you many experience altitude sickness if you do not acclimate or watch for symptoms. Read more in my tips section for dealing with acclimating. It might be a good idea to spend the day in town first if you get altitude sickness. But monitoring how we felt we did the short Bear Lake Area Hikes.
The Bear Lake Loop
These hikes can be done in a loop. We hiked the Best of Loop which is about 5 miles.
Bear Lake
We started out with a quick glance at Bear Lake. It is right off of the parking lot, only a few feet away. If you would like to, you can hike around the entire lake, taking 0.8 miles to complete the look around Bear Lake.
Nymph Lake
Nymph Lake hike alone is 1.1 miles round trip from the Bear Lake Trailhead.
Dream Lake
Dream Lake hike is a 2.2 mile round trip hike from the Bear Lake Trailhead.
Emerald Lake
Emerald Lake hike is a 3.5 hike mile round trip hike from the Bear Lake Trailhead
Lake Haiyaha
Lake Haiyaha hike is a 3.9 mile round trip hike from the Bear Lake Trailhead
Getting late we headed back to our campsite for showers and to cook dinner after completely our loop in the Bear Lake area of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Day 2
Sky Pond
The next day in the Rocky Mountain National Park was dedicated to hiking to Sky Pond. The Sky Pond hike is 9.5 miles, it is moderately difficult. It doesn’t not become difficult until the last part of the trek up the side of a rocky and wet terrain. But all very much worth it. Check out my article about the Sky Pond Hike for everything you need to know about the trek.
- Length: 9.5 miles
- Time: 4 to 6 hours
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Elevation Gain: 2,125 feet
- Trailhead: Glacier Gorge Trailhead
Mills Lake
We took the extension of going to Mills Lakes on our way back. To get here you will need to turn right on your way back at the Loch & Mills Junction. It is just a short 1.2 mile walk round trip to add this on. I would highly suggest it if you have the time and energy.
If not wanting to do as long as a hike I would recommend at least hiking to Loch Lake or Mills Lake.
This was the only hike of our day, including some extensions mentioned in the article above. After this we ate again at our campsite and stretched out.
Shorter hikes in this area of the park would include:
You could easily pick some shorter hike in this same area and trailhead. Combining a few hikes together to create another loop like the day before. Here are some great hikes in this same area.
Day 3
To get to the next big hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park we needed to get up fairly early as it was a long drive, about 1 hour from Estes Park. But a scenic one to say the least.
Trail Ridge Road
The Trail Ridge Road is part of the National Park. But it is closed in winters. This road has tons of stops, other hikes if not waiting to hike Mt Ida to spend your day on this road going all the way to the Grand Lake side of the park. The Grand Lake side has some great picnic and small hike areas too.
Mt. Ida
Day 3 was our last day dedicated to the Rocky Mountain National Park, we wished we could spend more time here. We started the day very early, around 7:00am. We drove the 1.5 hour drive to the trailhead to hike to Mt. Ida. This is an incredible drive, so leave time for some scenic stops on this route.
Mt. Ida was my favorite hike in the RMNP. It is also a 9.5 miles round trip hike. Make sure you go early to avoid thunderstorms, this is a ridge hike and can become dangerous stuck in a lightning storm. Read all about the Mt. Ida Ridge Hike here.
- Length: 9.5 Miles
- Time: 4.5-7 hours
- Difficulty: Difficult to Strenuous
- Trailhead Elevation: 10,759 Feet
- Highest Elevation: 12,889 Feet
- Total Elevation Gain: 2465 Feet
- Trailhead: Poudre Lake/Milner Pass
Depart
From Mt. Ida we drove to the Vail, Colorado area to hike the Tuhare Lakes Trail.
If needing to head back to Denver you might want to backtrack through the park. Or you can make a loop maybe checking out Winter Park and Golden to extend your stay before heading back to Denver.
**Read about the rest of our trip in my post on our 1 Week Itinerary for Colorado in the summer.
Tips
Acclimate
This is a high altitude hike. We did this on our second day in the park and I struggled with tiredness. Drink lots of water, electrolytes, eat protein and maybe stay in town to get used to the altitude before going on the big hike the first day of your vacation. Make sure you stay hydrated on hikes and in the mornings and evenings.
National Park Tickets & Pass
If going during COVID-19 restrictions make sure you secure a reservation, so far RMNP does not plan to use the reservation system for 2021. You can do this by going to their reservation page. It will cost you $2 to reserve a time slot per day, you do not need a pass or paid ticket yet, you will show your pass or purchase a ticket later for this. But you will need a print out or proof on your cell phone of your reservation when you go through the gate. We planned this trip a few weeks out and didn’t get the time slot that we wanted, plan ahead for this.
Go Early
Not only will this help you beat the crowds but also the heat. If we were not restricted to the reservation system we probably would have tried to start this hiking before 8:00am.
Be Prepared For Any Type of Weather
In Colorado you never know what the weather will do, even in the summer. Some days it might be in the 90s and the next day in the 40s. Bring some layers to be prepared for anything.
What To Bring
Hydration Bladders- we each filled 2 liter hydration bladder and I also ran out in the hot summer sun.
Good Hiking Shoes- I wore my Vasque hiking shoes.
Hiking Poles- I liked my travel hiking poles for this particular hike, I put them away to hike up and down the Timberline Falls sections. But I do believe they help on up and down hills.
Snacks- Bring some trail snacks or a packed lunch to eat along the hike and or when you get to the lake.
Sunscreen
Layers- You never know what the weather will do when you are this high up into the mountains. Layers are key, I love my Columbia shirts for warmth in a morning chill and SPF protection in the heat.
Where To Eat and Drink
You May Also Be Interested In These Articles:
South Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Tuhare Lake Hike in Minturn/Vail, Colorado
Visiting Maroon Bells in Aspen, Colorado
The Blue Lake Hike: Oh Be Joyful
Two Days in Crested Butte, Colorado
Stop writing about Colorado! You and 10,000 wannabes encouraging people to come to Colorado is so annoying. There’s too many people here already, us born and raised Coloradans are sick of transplants. Just stfu already!