Ranger talk Rocky Mountain National Park
ESTES PARK, Colo. – Breathtaking doesn’t even begin to describe the views you’ll find at this week’s National Park Getaway. Waterfalls, wildlife and an expansive wilderness are all part of the massive grandeur.
You’ll find miles of splendor at Rocky Mountain National Park, less than a two-hour drive from Denver. Within park boundaries, more than seventy-five peaks top 12,000 feet. With over 300 miles of hiking trails, 140-plus lakes and hundreds of miles of streams, opportunities for recreation are endless.
This weekend, August 24 and 25, Rocky Mountain National Park will host the sixth in the series of National Park Service-National Geographic Society BioBlitzes. In neighboring Estes Park, a Biodiversity Festival at the Stanley Park Fairgrounds promises a full schedule of music, ranger programs, live animal demonstrations, photography workshops, poetry and talks by leading scientists.
There are five drive-in campgrounds and one drive-in group camping area in the park. Three campgrounds, Moraine Park, Glacier Basin, and Aspenglen, take reservations, as does the group-camping area. Other park campgrounds are first-come, first-served, and fill on most summer days. There are no electric, water or sewer hookups at any campsites.
The water is turned off in the winter at all year-round campgrounds. Drinking water is available at entrance stations and open visitor centers.
Click on the links below to jump to specific information.
Camping Brochure (pdf) Campground Descriptions
Bear Lake Road Reconstruction Information
Aspenglen Campground (8200 ft), located on U.S. Highway 34 just west of the Fall River Entrance Station has 54 sites.
- Closed for the season. Opens May 23, 2012; closes at noon September 23, 2012.
- Reservations accepted and recommended.
- Camping fee is $20/site/night.
- Recreational vehicle and trailer length limit is 30 feet.
- A Loop: tents only, including walk-ins; B Loop: no generators allowed; C Loop: generators allowed.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
- To download a printable brochure (pdf), click here.
*Glacier Basin Campground (8500 ft), located on Bear Lake Road approximately six miles south of the Beaver Meadows Entrance Station has 150 sites.
- Glacier Basin Campground will be CLOSED the entire summer of 2012 due to Bear Lake Road reconstruction.
- Reservations available and recommended for Loops C & D; A & B Loops will be first-come, first-served.
- Camping fee is $20/site/night.
- Recreational vehicle and trailer length limit is 35 feet.
- Shuttle Bus access.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
- To download a printable brochure (pdf), click here.
- To view a table of tent pad sizes by site, click here.
- Glacier Basin Campground will be CLOSED the entire summer of 2012 due to Bear Lake Road reconstruction.
- Reservations accepted and recommended.
- Camping fee is $3/person/night.
- Tents only.
- Small sites (#1 & 13) fit 9 – 15 people and a maximum of three vehicles.
- Medium sites (#2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 & 12) fit 16-25 people and a maximum of four vehicles.
- Large sites (7, 8 & 9) fit 26- 40 people and a maximum of five vehicles.
- No limit on number of tents.
- No more than five vehicles per site.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
Longs Peak Campground (9500 ft), located approximately nine miles south of the town of Estes Park on Route 7 has 26 sites.
- Closed beginning Tuesday, October 11, 2011, for the winter for hazard tree mitigation.
- First-come, first-served, no reservations taken.
- Tents only.
- Camping fee is $20/site/night when water is on, approximately late May-mid September; $14/site/night when water is off.
- The trailhead to Longs Peak and other destinations is a short distance away.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
- To download a printable brochure (pdf), click here.
Moraine Park Campground (8160 ft), located in a ponderosa pine forest above the meadows of Moraine Park on Bear Lake Road approximately two and a half miles south of the Beaver Meadows Entrance Station, has 245 sites.
- Beware that the Bear Lake Road Reconstruction will impact campers at Moraine Park Campground. Click here for more information.
- Open year round.
- Reservations accepted and recommended from May 25 through October 3, 2011.
- First-come, first-served the remainder of the year.
- Camping fee $20/site/night during the reservation period and when water is on; fee after water is turned off is $14/site/night.
- Recreational vehicle and trailer length limit is 40 feet.
- Trails from the campground connect to numerous other trails.
- Shuttle Bus access.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
- To download a printable brochure (pdf), click here.
- To view a table of tent pad sizes by site, click here.
- Open winter only.
- First-come, first-served.
- Camping fee is $3/person/night.
- Tents only.
- Small sites fit 10 – 15 people, medium sites 16-25 people, large sites 26 – 40 people.
- No limit on number of tents.
- No more than five vehicles per site.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
- To download a printable brochure (pdf), click here.
*Timber Creek Campground (8900 ft), located along the Colorado River in the Kawuneeche Valley on U.S. Highway 34 approximately 10 miles north of Grand Lake, has 98 sites.
- Open year-round.
- First-come, first-served, no reservations taken.
- Camping fee is $20/site/night when water is on; $14/site/night when water is off.
- Recreational vehicle and trailer length limit is 30 feet.
- To see campground photos, click here.
- To view a campground map (pdf), click here.
- To download a printable brochure (pdf), click here.
Set your sights on this spectacular place by reading this week’s National Park Getaway at www.nps.gov/getaways.
