Trail Ridge Road

One of the many great views

Today we drove the length of Trail Ridge Road, from Estes Park to Grand Lake.  It's the only road that traverses the entire park.  At its highest point, it reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet making it the highest continuously paved road within the United States.  It's closed half the year because of snow as they don't plow it during the winter.

Driving the entire length of Trail Ridge Road is a must-do.  It's about 50 miles in length and you cross the continental divide at Milner Pass.  You're treated to spectacular vistas and a variety of animals in their natural habitat.  We were able to see elk, mule deer, marmots, and a moose.  Even with the relatively short length, the speed limit is 35mph most of the way so it takes about 90 minutes to get to Grand Lake.  With all of our stops at lookouts and the Alpine visitor center, it took us about 3 hours to drive the entire length.

Waiting for the elk herd to cross the road in front of us

The trip allows you to see all of the various ecosystems within the park, from grassland valleys, to pine forests, to the alpine tundra above the tree line.  We had beautiful weather for our drive and made it back to Estes in about 2 hours -- only slowed by a herd of Elk that decided to cross the road in front of us.  It's calving season for elk and we were witnessing baby elk out and about for the first time.  We didn't mind waiting one bit.

A bull elk