The winter months are an ideal time to go exploring Rocky Mountain National Park and the town of Estes Park in Colorado. The trails that surround Estes Park motel are great in any season, however, they stand out when they are coated with shimmering, white powder. Let’s stay in Estes Park lodging and Checkout which is the best?
1. Sprague Lake
Trailhead: Sprague Lake. The trailhead is situated around 5.5 miles to the north. Bear Lake Road Distance: About 1 mile of difficulty: Very easy
A favorite spot for fishing trout in the summer The Sprague Lake Trail offers more of a relaxing stroll than a long hike. Although just because it’s a little easier isn’t a guarantee that it won’t offer views. Amazing views of the lake of the most stunning mountains – Half Mountain, Notchtop, Thatchtop, Hallett, Taylor, and Otis all get the new splendor that is veiled by the snow white of winter that makes you feel like you’ve just walked into the wardrobe of Narnia.
2. The Pool
Trailhead: Cub Lake Trailhead Distance: 5.4 miles round trip Difficulty: Easy
The Pool is the name given to the convergence of the famous Big Thompson River and Fern Creek and is an idyllic, tranquil water pond during winter. To get to The Pool in the winter it is necessary to begin at Cub Lake Trailhead. Cub Lake Trailhead and follow the road for approximately 1 mile before reaching The Fern Lake Trailhead. The idea of walking on the road might seem unnatural however the road in question is wooded, and is likely to be covered with snow, so it’ll feel like a broader hiking trail! At Fern Lake Trailhead Fern Lake trailhead takes the relatively level Fern Lake Trail through forests of willows lodgepoles, cottonwoods, and Ponderosa pine. The trail is occasionally open to stunning panoramas of Big Thompson Valley.
3. Calypso Cascades
Trailhead: Wild Basin Winter Trailhead. Distance five miles in total (from Wild Basin Winter trailhead that is 1.5 miles total round-trip) The difficulty is easy.
The stunning, but lesser-visited southeast corner of Rocky Mountain National Park, this hike not only offers stunning views at the end but, you will also see several waterfalls along the way. Take along the Wild Basin Trail to reach Copeland Falls, which rages in spring, but is only a gentle trickle among the ice and rocks during winter. It’s just a quarter millimeter from where the trailhead is and is accessible via indicated spurs on this main path.
4. Chasm Falls
Trailhead: Endovalley Picnic Area. Starting from The Fall River entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park Drive approximately 4 miles to the parking lot for the picnic area, which is close to Old Fall River Road. Distance: 2.8 miles round trip Difficulty: Moderate to easy
Chasm Falls can be reached through a gentle slope that runs along Old Fall River Road, the first road to be constructed by the Rocky Mountain National Park offering access to the park’s highlands as early as 1920! Old Fall River Road is closed to traffic during the winter, which makes it an ideal spot for a hike if looking for a slope that is gradual with stunning views and a refreshing spot.
5. Gem Lake
Trailhead: Lumpy Ridge. The parking area is at Devils Gulch Rd, about 3 miles to the north from downtown Estes Park. The distance is 3.4 miles round trip. Difficulty Moderate
Gem Lake is a stunning area. Gem Lake area features some of the most impressive granite rock formations found in the region. The beauty of the long-wrought trail is what earned the area a place on the National Register of Historic Places. On the trail’s gradual climb of Lumpy Ridge, you’ll pass through the ponderosa and aspens, and you’ll come to huge boulders that look like the silent giants, especially when they are covered in snow. One of these, which is located 1.5 miles to the west along the path, can be identified as the distinctive Paul Bunyan’s Boot.
