Adventure Possible

How to Live a Modern Life of Adventure

15 Steps to Live a Life of Adventure
  • Life of Adventure
  • Books
  • Sponsorships
  • Weekend Adventures
  • Appalachian Trail
  • Bike America
  • RV’ing
  • The Kelleys
You are here: Home / Weekend Outdoor Adventures / Colorado / Day Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park

Day Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park

September 29, 2016 by Mark Kelley 2 Comments

Share adventure with others

  • Tweet

On our last stop in the Rockies before descending into the plains on our way east, we visited Rocky Mountain National Park. We camped just outside the park in Estes Park so that we could have a full utility hookup, letting us run our heater all night. In September, fall is in full swing in the high Rockies, and nighttime temperatures dipped into the 30’s.
2016-09-18-23-10-12
The park was crowded with leaf peepers there to see the bright orange, yellow and red leaves of the pockets of Aspen sprinkled among the evergreens. The trees really are beautiful, and they got us excited about spending the fall back east.

We spent most of our time hiking in the park, hiking to Cub Lake, around Bear Lake, and to Mills Lake. The Mills lake hike is fantastic. A little less than eight miles, it took us above 10,000 feet to a beautiful lake at the base of a valley. We huffed and puffed all the way up and all the way down, carrying Jane and Wilson on our backs, but the long range views and turning leaves of Aspen provided great rewards for the effort.

RMNP is worth a return trip one day for some backcountry backpacking. The park is massive, and we sampled barely a percentage with our day hikes.

Here are our photos from Rocky Mountain National Park

2016-09-18-00-24-20

2016-09-18-00-28-16

2016-09-18-00-48-55

2016-09-18-23-14-00-1

2016-09-18-22-31-01

2016-09-18-23-29-19-1

2016-09-19-00-57-44-2

2016-09-19-01-39-15

2016-09-19-01-49-11-1

2016-09-19-02-34-58-3

2016-09-19-03-10-52

2016-09-19-03-44-34

2016-09-20-00-02-43

2016-09-20-00-04-54

2016-09-20-00-47-13

Share adventure with others

  • Tweet

More adventure, please!

Filed Under: Colorado

Comments

  1. Wayne Evans says

    October 6, 2016 at 7:57 pm

    We lived in Longmont for 6 years, about 45 min out of Estes Park. We went up every few weeks it seems like. so much fun. I have hundreds of pictures that look just like yours.We moved back to Houston about 4 years ago now but we have a Silver Streak 23 ft trailer I am restoring and hope to get back up there next summer.

    Reply
    • Mark Kelley says

      October 10, 2016 at 8:20 pm

      Hi Wayne, you were fortunate to have lived so close to RMNP for so long. It’s a huge park with so much to explore. I look forward to getting back there in the future.

      Reply

Share your comments... Cancel reply

Click to Buy eBook

Buy This eBook from AdventurePossible.com ($4.99)

Based on the actual adventure and transformation of Mark Kelley, publisher of this website, who struggled mightily on his hike through the rugged and remote 100 Mile Wilderness on the Appalachian Trail.

Amazon Top 20 Best Seller for Adventure Travel eBooks.

Buy It Now. Support Adventure Possible. ($4.99)

Meet the Adventure Possible Family

Hi, My Name is Katie and I Married an Adventurer.

Hi, My Name is Katie and I Married an Adventurer.

Quitting My Job

Quitting My Job

Are we investing for the future while we travel long term?

Are we investing for the future while we travel long term?

How can we afford to quit work and to travel for a year?

How can we afford to quit work and to travel for a year?

How much does it cost to RV around America for a year?

How much does it cost to RV around America for a year?

Adventure Possible in the News

Adventure Possible in the News

Live a Life of Adventure in 15 Steps

Live a Life of Adventure in 15 Steps

Our family has adopted an approach to modern life that builds adventure into life's trajectory. We call it the Adventure Possible … Read More

Adventure in NC

  • Life of Adventure
  • Books
  • Sponsorships
  • Weekend Adventures
  • Appalachian Trail
  • Bike America
  • RV’ing
  • The Kelleys

Dream Big

  • Live a Life of Adventure
  • RV across America
  • Bike across America
  • Hike the AT

Resources

  • Checklists & Tools
  • Adventure Sponsorships
  • Weekend Adventures

Shop

  • Shop
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • My Account

Get Involved

  • Contributing Writers
  • Buy our Books
  • About The Site
  • Meet the Kelleys

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search

© 2013-2016 ProTrack Marketing LLC. Raleigh, North Carolina. Google+ Publisher.