Rocky Mountain National Park

Established: 1915

Season

The National Park is open throughout the year. The Trail Ridge Road is open from the end of May to October. The park is particularly beautiful in spring (June). Most visitors come in July and August. The country is at its most colorful in early autumn (September). There are excellent winter sports facilities.

The Rocky Mountain National Park, 2.5 hours' drive northwest of Denver, includes within its confines the Continental Divide (Watershed), formed by the main ridge of the Rocky Mountains, which on the east side fall abruptly down to the Great Plains in the Front Range.

The highest point is Longs Peak (14,256ft/4,345m), in the southeast of the National Park. The deep U-shaped valleys were scooped out by glaciers. The icefields and snowfields in the summit zone, the alpine meadows, the quiet lakes and rushing mountain streams and the varied flora and fauna (including wapiti) draw well over 2 million visitors every year.