There is nowhere quite like the Rocky Mountains. You can do so many things and explore so many places that planning a trip can feel daunting.

That's where we come in! We have been to the Rockies and while we haven't explored it all, we have a great guide to get you started on your own Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures.

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Where to Go

Let's start with the simplest question: Where to go? For us, we wanted to go check out the national park and we wanted to have some great hiking options.

We also wanted to make sure we tried to tackle Long's Peak for our first 14er so that made picking Estes Park, Colorado an easy choice. Estes Park is about an hour and a half from Denver and you get to drive through Boulder on your way up there.

It is a beautiful drive and it makes it easy to get right off the plane and be hiking within a couple of hours.

Estes Park has a few great draws. It is a decent-sized town so staging your outdoor adventures from here is easy with restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and gas stations abundant.

There are also a lot of places to stay, whether it is Airbnb or hotels to choose from. The final reason is that it is so close to everything you want to do.

Nothing we included in our Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventure guide is further than a 45-minute drive from Estes Park. That means more time outdoors and less riding in a car.

What to Do

Hiking

Kruger Rock

This is a shorter hike but it is still beautiful and it gives you a great overlook on Estes Park. The hike itself is located in Hermit Park Open Space which is a huge area with lots of campgrounds and trails.

Kruger Rock trail is about 3.5 miles round trip with a gentle uphill slope. You end up on top of Kruger Rock and because it is not in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) itself, you won't have to deal with as many of the crowds. You do have to pay for the entry into the park which runs at about $12 per vehicle.

Chapin/Chiquita Mountains

These are two of three mountains you can connect to form one giant hike of eight miles roundtrip. We ended up just doing Chapin and Chiquita Mountains which was six miles roundtrip with about 2,750 elevation gain throughout the hike.

The most amazing part of the whole experience was driving on a one-way dirt road six miles to get to the trailhead. You share the road with no other vehicles and can see tons of wildlife on our way which is different from your normal RMNP experience.

The hiking is exposed as a lot of it is above treeline so make sure you are prepared, check the weather and turn around at the first sign of trouble.

Long's Peak

The whole hike is about 16 miles round trip and this is a tough 14er to climb. The first five miles are a steady incline through a forest and then ultimately above treeline before you end up at a giant boulder field.

Because the hike is so long, if you are going to try to do it in one day as we did you have to start early (think 2-3 am) which means coming down through that area you get a whole new experience.

Once you are up through the boulder field you get to the keyhole which is a rest point as there is a shelter there to hunker down in in the event of weather. If you continue for about another two miles you will make it to the summit but you still have to pass through the ledges, the trough, the narrows and then finally the homestretch.

When we hiked Long's, we stopped at the narrows as the winds were too much for us to make it up the homestretch. That being said it was a beautiful hike and well worth the trip even if you don't make it to the top!

The Lakes

This isn't the name for these lakes but there are so many you can string together that this is what we are going to call them. There is a shuttle because of how many people are there which you likely will have to do even if you go on a weekend. We started at Bear Lake and then headed over to Nymph Lake.

From there we were off to Dream Lake which was by far the busiest of the lakes with lots of people taking pictures and having snacks. After that, you can continue to Emerald Lake for a total distance of close to two miles. Returning to the beginning brings you to 4 miles round trip and you get to see a lake every mile or so.

There are tons of other lakes in this area as well to explore including Fern Lake and Sky Pond, all of which we have heard rave reviews about. It can be tough to pick just one lake but the nice thing about the Bear Lake area of RMNP is you don't have to pick one lake, you can see them all!

Horseback Riding

Horseback riding isn't something we would normally pick to do on vacation but it was well worth it! We chose the two-hour ride at Sombrero Ranches at Estes Park.

They were great as they had a well-developed path for us to ride on and our tour guide was great at keeping us moving and entertained. There are shorter rides as well but we wouldn't suggest that because you probably feel like you are rushing out just to go back.

They also cater to large groups so you can take a whole bunch of people with you. You can also make it a longer ride as well, all the way up to 10 hours of riding on the continental divide.

And if the long ride isn't your style but you want something a little extra, you can spring for the steak dinner ride which includes a two-hour ride plus a steak dinner. And don't worry, you don't have to ride back down after your steak dinner, they take you in a wagon down to the stables.

Have Fun in the Rockies

These activities are just scratching the surface of what you can do at Rocky Mountain National Park. We could go back 100 more times and not explore everything the Rocky's have to offer.

But if you are like us and you are a little intimidated with all the options you have, use our guide to help you pick what Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures you want on your next trip!

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