We are trying to decide how many days we need to see RMNP? We will be there mid July and will have two children (7&12) with us. We like to do some hiking but no all day hikes. We would also like to spend some time in either Denver or Boulder. Would like to take the kids to a Rockies game. Would also like to take a whitewater rafting trip but did this last year in Yellowstone so may be willing to skip that this year if we have enough other things to keep us busy. We are driving from ND and have between 7 to 9 days for this vacation. Will 3 days in RMNP be enough time or are we trying to do too much. Thanks in advance for any help. Also I should mention I have never been to CO. and my husband has not been there in about 20 years.

Could someone please explain why no one is willing to help with my travel questions. Do you need to post ?'S about LA, NY, Hawaii ect to get a response? I have legitimate travel ?'s and have had a very poor response. I am sorry to say I will probably never use this forum again.

what??? it seems that your posts have responses. Perhaps you should ask all your questions under the same post. To answer your question yes 3 days in RMNP is plenty.

Click on your name and all your posts (with responses) will show up to the left.

I had no responses to my first message, when I posted pretty much the same questions the second time I had two responses to that question...I posted again this morning and have had no response until now....It really is too bad I had to post something negative to get a response. I was really just hoping for some good advice.

For my family, 2-5 days at RMNP is ideal. Your plan for 3 days is right in the ballpark. There is a book written by RMNP rangers about hiking there. It might be nice to order in advance, so you can do some planning.

Maybe there are few replies because unless one reads the message, there is no clue to some of us as to where or what RMNP is. If you hadn't mentioned the Rockies, I would still not know.
This is like the airport codes, ABQ or EWK, this board is making me have to Think!!

There is plenty to do in RMNP for at least 3 days. Our family spent 7 days there in summer of 2000 and didn't feel like we were there too long. There are plenty of beautiful, moderate hiking trails that take much less than a day. Check out the trails that lead from Bear Lake in particular. But, start out early in the am or you won't find a parking spot! You'll also want to drive along Trail Ridge Road over the continental divide for beautiful scenery - the drive can be a little hair-raising though at the higher altitudes!

Fodors puts out a great guide on RMNP and Estes Park - that's what I used.

Boulder is a beautiful college town, and is on the way to RMNP from Denver.
Be sure to check out the shops and restaurants along Pearl Street.

Be careful not to squeeze in too much in that timeframe. Have fun!

tripplanner,
You need a vacation - you're too testy.
We've been to RMNP 5 times over the past twenty years (from Wisconsin) It's my favorite National Park. Are you staying in Estes Park? There's a trail head at Bear Lake that is a great starting point for a hike. You can go all the way to Flattop Mt., Hallet Peak or anywhere in between. Plan on staring as early as possible. And, if you can, it is less crowded during the week than the week-end. The drive through the park which I believe is the highest elevation paved road in N. America is awesome with dozens of unbelievably scenic stopping points. There are no whitewater rafting spots close by. You have to drive 30 or 40 miles north of Loveland (which we have done) to do this. It takes a couple hours each way because you have to drive through the Big Thompson River Canyon Road (which is very scenic but very windy-as in winding.) One year we went with our boys when they were about 6 and 10 and we hiked to Hallet's Peak - they were like jack rabbits once were were above the tree line. Boulder is about 45 min S. and I don't know if there is alot to do there with kids. It's more of a sophisticated college town.To answer your qustion - betwwen three and five days seems to be about the amount of time we spend at RMNP.
JoeG

Tripplanner, you know that in Colorado we are Mtn time so perhaps it was just a bit to early to get responses from locals, perhaps if you were to be polite we would help more. There are numerous folks here that take the time to respond to questions if they feel they have vaild input. it's rare on the Colorado board to have flames and insults.

Tripplanner, chill out! Some of us can only check out the site at certain times of the day. Three days should be enough for the park. Where in ND are you coming from?

I am usually not this testy but when I posted yesterday no one replied to my first message.....I also posted a while back (before registration) and recieved no response then either. It just seems to me that there are so many responses to questions concerning the big cities...anyway we are coming from the eastern part of the state and yes it will be a long drive!! Thanks to anyone who provided me with useful info tooday I do appreciate it.

Tripplanner, You know, I think people really are ignoring you in particular!

Get real. People respond to posts they know something about. Scarlett is right, maybe most people have no clue what RMNP is. Please do NOT think that getting testy is the way to get responses.

Now who is testy??!!

Please only respond to to messages if you have anything useful to add.

The campgrounds in RCMP tend to be "packed in". The best one is Timber Creek, but it is on the far side of Trail Ridge Road, that is on the west side.

For good hikes, I always enjoy the walk up to the Loch, which starta at Glacier Gorge Junction.

You can go beyond that quite a ways if you want, including a climb up a waterfall.

I think 3 full days would be good for that particular park unless you are really into hiking.

I am not up on the white water situation.