Rocky Mountain National Park

Dream Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park

Our family had the wonderful opportunity to travel in a socially distanced way to Rocky Mountain National Park in July 2020. Early in the pandemic, we realized RV travel might be the only way to safely travel for the foreseeable future, so we nabbed a 2018 used Airstream Bambi 16 footer. After a few weeks of prep and learning (mostly performed by my husband, Adam) and a few weeks of concurrent trip cancellation (we cancelled 5 trips that involved flights during COVID time) and re-planning (performed by me), we were off!

Because we have two darling children, Zooey, 7, and Oliver, 2, and we try to keep their lives screen free, we wanted to take our time driving with traditional car activities- reading, audiobooks, drawing, music, word games etc so our longest intended driving days were 6 hours according to google maps. Of course, when your trailer tires are supposed to only drive at 60 mph, and you need to stop for wiggle breaks driving takes a bit longer:)

Day 1: Travel Day: Chicago to West Des Moines

We had a late start and got to the Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines at dusk. The kids and I enjoyed a lovely walk in the largest existing walnut tree grove and saw an owl just 20 feet away which was incredible. This was a perfectly fine campsite and if fits in your travel plans, I'd recommend, but no need to go out of your way for it.

Day 2: Travel Day: West Des Moines, IA to Grand Island, NE (I-80)

Prairie Rose State Park, IA

We stopped mid-day for lunch at a state park called Prairie Rose. It was lovely, just a few miles off the highway and a great place to stop.

Beach at Mormon Island State Park

Camping was at Mormon Island State Recreation Area outside of Grand Island, NE. This campground is just off I-80- you can see and hear the highway. However, I'd actually still recommend this campsite, particularly if you can get one of the sites just across from the lovely lake and beach (numbers 26-30 or really any on the "Cottonwood Loop"). The water was so warm and wonderful, great for blow up rafts and such. It's a great chance for kids to have a break in the middle of a few driving days. Despite light pollution from Grand Island and the highway, we were still able to very clearly see the Neowise comet when we stopped here on the trip back from RMNP.

Day 3: Mormon Island State Park, NE to North Sterling State Park, CO

The only "touristy" place we stopped was the Golden Spike Tower at the world's largest rail yard located in North Platte, NE. My late grandfather, Mel, was a HUGE fan of trains and both my kids inherited this love. There was an outdoor viewing area, all had masks, and we were careful as heck. It was a sight to see, and worth doing if the timing works and you have a train lover on your trip.

North Sterling State Park was a surprising gem of a place. This state park is only a few hours from RMNP so many would push on through. But we didn't want a 7+ hour day so chose this place based on geography only. But it ended up being really, really cool. This park is in the middle of rural, middle-of-nowhere, Colorado. It is out on the range. It is windy. There are no trees. The sky goes forever and there is no light pollution. The coyotes were howling at night. In short, it was amazing. The campground is on a reservoir so is another chance for kids to swim and play.

Day 4: Olive Ridge Campground, Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest

This was a last minute trip and a few of the campgrounds in RMNP itself were closed due to COVID so our only options were national forest campgrounds. But Olive Ridge was a definite winner. There are no services- no water, no electricity, no dump site and I wouldn't have it any other way! We found that campsites that offer electric attract a slightly different crowd. Here at Olive Ridge, the focus was on peace and quiet and communing with nature. Many people were out hiking and exploring early in the morning. There was no trouble with noise or lights. It was heavenly!

We started at reserved site 45, then switched to a first come first served 25, for our last night as we couldn't book for the whole 5 nights we wanted. There are minimal hiking trails in the campground but the Wild Basin region of RMNP is just 10 minutes away, Estes Park is ~30 minutes and the Beaver Meadows RMNP entrance is about 40 minutes away. Campsite activities included exploring, pretend, doing dishes (kids are great at doing dishes outside!), reading, drawing, watercolors, and my favorite recommendation from the Doc RV group- rope play (pet rocks, jump rope, the list goes on and on).

A quick word about Estes Park during COVID times. It is crowded, I recommend you don't stop there unless it is absolutely essential and while I understand masks are required indoors most of the people were pulling them off immediately on exiting and walking in groups on crowded sidewalks unmasked.

Day 5: Rocky Mountain National Park: Calypso Cascades 3.6 miles, Wild Basin

This was a great hike, very doable for 7 yo and 2 yo in the pack. You are near a creek the entire time so lots of great sights and sounds. One can go on to Ouzel Falls, but Zooey had had enough and her shoes weren't fitting well so she was in pain. The parking lot was nearly full at 8 am, so definitely need an early start.

Speaking of crowds, RMNP is one of the busiest national parks. While I don't have stats, my understanding is that in non-COVID times, the busiest areas fill the lots well before 8 am. The reservation system worked really well but I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you snag the 6-8 am timeslot and go early. You are able to leave and re-enter the park at any time once you've made your initial entry.

Day 6: Rocky Mountain National Park: Bear Lake/Nymph Lake/Dream Lake

Nymph Lake

This is an absolute MUST DO hike. The roundtrip hike was just over 2 miles. One can go an additional 2 miles (RT) to Emerald Lake but we decided to stop on a high note and that high note was the incredible Dream Lake:) This is an arduous hike as it's all uphill so don't be deceived by the short mileage- it was a work out both for Zooey and for the adult carrying the 2 year old:)

This hike is incredibly and frequently rewarding. Fantastic vistas, plenty of rocks for the kids to climb on. The first lake- Nymph lake is just 0.5 miles in and then Dream Lake is another 0.6 miles. We didn't actually walk around Bear Lake as both kids were tuckered out. I'd recommend saving Bear Lake for last- get the motivated kids up the hill first. Definitely do this hike but please arrive by 7 for a parking spot!!

Sprague Lake Picnic Area

We stopped at the Sprague Lake picnic area for lunch after the hike. This was a great stop off as the kids could explore prime moose habitat- streams, tall grass, downed tree trunks and branches to walk over- highly recommend. We did not hike around the lake itself- we just played in the marsh.

Day 7: Rocky Mountain National Park: Trail Ridge Road and the Tundra

Many Parks Curve Overlook

This was a great day. Less hiking intensive, more exploring. While I had been here a few times before, it was magical to experience the sights, sounds, smells and feels (the WIND!!) with my kiddos. Trail Ridge Road is the highest altitude continues paved road in the country at over 12,000 feet. It's a fantastic change to go from montane, to sub-alpine, to alpine all in a few minutes.. We started the day with a picnic in the montane area at the Hidden Valley picnic area which we had to ourselves at 7:30 am and was lovely. This was a good time to set out because we were one of the first few cars at every overlook and every stop.

The mountains and the marmots had Z's attention at Forest
Canyon on the Trail Ridge Road

We took our time and stopped at many overlooks, reading the interpretive signs, discussing our surroundings. I highly recommend the app Gypsy Guide app for educational info on the area. If you download it before you leave, it will use GPS (not cell service) to determine your location and teach you little tidbits about where you are.

We stopped at Tundra Communities Trail which I do recommend but it is pretty challenging for littles despite being less than a mile long. You are at altitude and even on the best of the days (and we had a magnificent blue sky day), it is windy and uphill. Still worth doing to see the marmots and pika scurrying about and the views!! Amazing.

We then headed down to the West side of the park. There is much exploring to do on this side of the park but since we only had 4 full days in the park, we decided to not stretch ourselves too thin and drove through with a picnic at Harbison Meadows before heading back to the East side.

On the way back to the campground, I was granted my request to hike up the short but steep Alpine Ridge Trail. I was rewarded with two herds of elk walking right on the ridge line. And more blue skies and views all the way to Wyoming. I went quickly because the sleeping toddler and the rest of the family were in the car (I couldn't convince Zooey to do another uphill windy hike), but every second of that 20 minutes was divine.

Before we headed back to the campground we stopped at the Alluvial Fan and let the kids play on the rocks. They LOVED it. Who needs playgrounds (only recently opened post-COVID) when there are natural playgrounds all around us?

Alluvial Fan

Ollie playing "Doctor" at
Alluvial Fan

Day 8: Rocky Mountain National Park: Alberta Falls and campground chilling

We started with a picnic breakfast at a small but really cool spot on the way to the Bear Lake Parking area called Tuxedo Park. Definitely recommend. There's a wonderful stream and lots of rocks for play. You really can't go wrong with rocks and water.

Tuxedo Park Picnic Area

We then hiked to Alberta Falls. You can get here from both the Glacier Gorge Trailhead and the Bear Lake Trailhead. We were not super early (got to Bear Lake around 8:30 am) so were very lucky to get a parking spot. Phew! This is a great hike for kids. Short- 1.8 miles RT- and the ups and downs are interspersed which is good for kid morale. There is a stream to cross on bridge or on rocks. It's a winner.