2 Weeks Visiting Colorado National Parks: Trip Summary

Tuesday, September 13, 2022: Flew from Chicago to Denver, picked up rental car, checked into hotel, wandered around Estes

• United flight at 10:40am to arrive in Denver at 12:20pm

• Picked up rental car from Enterprise

• Drove to Estes Park Mountain Shop to rent hiking poles

• Checked into Discovery Lodge 

• Walked to the Town of Estes Park Visitor Center

• Walked along the Estes Park Riverwalk

• Walked along Moraine Drive and Elkhorn Drive

  • Two fantastic roads that you can walk through in the downtown area of Estes Park, Colorado

  • Packed with more than 200 different shops, it’s a fun way to explore local storefronts, galleries, restaurants, and more

  • Stopped at The Original Taffy Shop

• Dinner at Poppy's Pizza & Grill

• Walked to the Stanley Hotel

• Grabbed the car to drive to Safeway for groceries

Wednesday, September 14, 2022: Rocky Mountain National Park

• Hiked Nymph, Dream, Emerald, and Haiyaha Lakes

  • 6.07 miles in 5 hours

• Hiked Bear Lake Nature Trail

  • 0.8 miles in 45 minutes

• Drove Trail Ridge Road

  • Stopped at the following overlooks

    • Many Parks Curve

    • Rainbow Curve

    • Tundra Communities Trail

  • The rain came. Sought shelter at the Gore Range Overlook for a bit

• Drove back to Estes Park, as I had developed altitude sickness in the form of a horrible headache and needed to descend to a lower elevation.

Thursday, September 15, 2022: Rocky Mountain National Park

• Sunrise photos at Sprague Lake

• Walked the Sprague Lake Loop

• Hiked some of the Deer Mountain Trail

  • 1.81 miles in about 1 hour (only hiked a portion of the trail)

• Horseback riding with National Park Gateway Stables from 10am - 12pm

• Hiked Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades

  • 4.4 miles in about 3 hours

Friday, September 16, 2022: Rocky Mountain National Park

• Hiked Sky Pond via Glacier Gorge Trail

  • 12.27 miles in 8.5 hours

• Went back to Estes Park Mountain Shop to return the hiking poles

• Drove Trail Ridge Road, stopping at the following overlooks

  • Farview Curve Overlook

  • Medicine Bow Curve 

• Dinner at Ed’s Cantina

Saturday, September 17, 2022: Drove from Discovery Lodge to Super 8 by Wyndham Montrose

• Checked out of Discovery Lodge

• Drove to Super 8 by Wyndham Montrose to check in

• Stopped at City Market for groceries

Sunday, September 18, 2022: Black Canyon of the Gunnison - South Rim

• Watched the sunrise at Dragon Point 

• Hiked Rim Rock Nature Trail

  • 2.22 miles in about 1.5 hours

• Drove East Portal Road to the Gunnison River

• Drove the South Rim Drive, stopping at the following overlooks:

  • Pulpit Rock Overlook

  • Cross Fissures View

  • Rock Point

  • Devil’s Lookout

  • Chasm View

  • Painted Wall

  • Dragon Point

  • Sunset View

  • High Point

  • Warner Point

• Hiked Warner Point Nature Trail

  • 1.77 miles in a little over an hour

• Hiked Cedar Point Nature Trail

  • 3.26 miles in a little over 2 hours

• Watched the sunset from Cedar Point Nature Trail

• Night sky photos at Chasm View 

Monday, September 19, 2022: Black Canyon of the Gunnison - North Rim

• Drove the North Rim stopping at the following overlooks:

  • Kneeling Camel View

  • Island Peaks View

  • Big Island View

  • Balanced Rock View

  • Narrows Overlook

  • Chasm View Nature Trail 

• Hiked North Vista Trail out to Exclamation Point

• Dinner at Horsefly Brewing Company

Tuesday, September 20, 2022: Drove from Super 8 by Wyndham to Retro Inn Cortez and Mesa Verde National Park

• Checked out of Super 8 by Wyndham Montrose 

• Drove to Retro Inn Cortez to check in

• Hiked Mesa Verde Point Lookout Trail

  • 2.3 miles in about one hour

• Hiked Knife Edge Trail

  • 2.24 miles in a little over an hour

Wednesday, September 21, 2022: Mesa Verde National Park

• Drove from Retro Inn Mesa Verde to Cliff Palace cliff dwelling

  • Stopped at the following overlooks along the way:

    • Montezuma Valley Overlook

    • Park Point Overlook

    • Geologic Overlook 

  • Stopped at the Gift Shop 

• Cliff Palace cliff dwelling

  • 9-9:30am 

• Hemenway House Overlook

• Hiked Soda Canyon Overlook Trail

  • 1.4 miles in about 40 minutes

• Spruce Tree House

• Step House

  • 1.25 miles in 50 minutes

• Long House tour

• Dinner at La Casita de Cortez

• Beer at Main Street Brewery

Thursday, September 22, 2022: Drove from Retro Inn Mesa Verde to Best Western Alamosa

• Checked out of Retro Inn Mesa Verde

• Drove to Best Western Alamosa to check in

Friday, September 23, 2022: Great Sand Dunes National Park

• Drove from Best Western Alamosa to Great Sand Dunes 

• Got sunrise photos from the Medano Creek area

• Hiked to High Dune

  • The wind picked up around 12:30pm

• Hiked Mosca Pass Trail 

  • 2.88 miles in about 2.5 hours (didn’t hike the entire trail)

• Went to the Visitor Center to buy a magnet, drove around the park campground area, hung out at the park until night

• Watched a Ranger Program, waiting for the Galactic Center of Visibility (8:23pm - 10:54pm)

• Went back to Medano Creek area to get photos of the Milky Way

Saturday, September 24, 2022: Zapata Falls Trail and Sand Dunes Recreation

• Hiked Zapata Falls Trail

  • 0.96 in about an hour (didn’t make it to the falls. Just took a bunch of photos instead)

• Dropped off the hiking poles at a FedEx location

• Spent the afternoon at Sand Dunes Recreation

• Dinner at San Luis Valley Brewing Company

Sunday, September 25, 2022: Drove from Best Western Alamosa Inn to Colorado Springs for lunch and then to Denver to drop off rental car and fly home

• Checked out of Best Western Alamosa

• Drove to Colorado Springs

  • Stopped at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company for lunch

• Drove from Colorado Springs to Enterprise to drop off the car

• United flight at 7:25pm to arrive back in Chicago at 10:49pm