This one describes the trail that starts at Bear Lake, past Nymph Lake etc.

http://www.naturalbornhikers.com/And...ewsGlacier.htm

Camping - try it out at home for the first time, not on this trip. It's much easier to figure out what you're doing on a quick overnighter rather than on an extended vacation.

Estes Park is pretty busy on the 4th of July. I would suggest you try to get there before early evening, especially if you want to settle in and go see the fireworks.

Don't bother with a guidebook for RMNP trails. The park's website, newspaper and rangers have enough info to last you 4 days. If you get there and decide you want/need a guidebook after a couple days, the visitor centers have some for sale.

You can pick up the newspaper at any entrance station. The park website has a list of most trails in the park. Mileage listed in one-way. Trails are pretty well marked so getting lost takes some effort. http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisi...ing_trails.htm

As beginning hikers, you're best off sticking with the easy/moderate trails until you figure out your fitness level at altitude. A good first hike is to Emerald Lake, starting at Bear Lake then passing Nymph and Dream. You can always abort and head back before Emerald if it's too much. Also starting at Bear Lake, you can hike to Bierstadt (some uphill but mostly downhill).

The hike to Mills Lake and/or the Loch is a must do. You *could* combine that with Lake Haiyaha and make a long loop, passing Dream/Nymph and ending at Bear Lake but it makes for a long hike.

Another long loop starts at Bear Lake and ends at the Fern Lake trailhead, passing by Odessa and Fern Lake on the way. I believe it's about 8-9 miles total and is all downhill less than halfway in - about the time you spot Odessa in the distance.

Absolutely drive Old Fall River Road and go over to the west side. On the way back to Estes Park (on Trail Ridge Road) stop at Rock Cut and hike to the Toll Memorial. The west side has been somewhat decimated by pine beetle damage but a hike along the Colorado River or to Big Meadows might be OK.

The hikes on the west side tend to be longer with less scenic views than the east side. Likewise, the Wild Basin area has less bang for the buck than the Glacier Gorge/Bear Lake area, but it would be quieter down there. Wild Basin would probably be a good place to hike on your way to Boulder on Thursday. You could also pick a trail in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area that day.

Always, plan your day to get an early start. That will help you beat the crowds and hopefully the afternoon thunderstorms. Do not plan on hiking above treeline in the afternoon unless you want to take your chances with lightning, and take some sort of rain gear with you. The best part of Trail Ridge Road is above treeline, so if the weather sucks come back in the morning and see it when the skies are clear.

I would suggest using hiking poles. They are most helpful in taking some of the stress off your knees on downhill sections. The Warming House in Estes rents them (I think). http://www.warminghouse.com/

Search around the park website for info. Check out the park maps, newspaper, shuttle routes and times, visitor center locations and hours, etc. http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm

We had lunch in Denver at a great Middle Eastern place on Grant and Colfax, across the street from the state capitol. It's called Shish Kebab Grill or Grant Street Kebabs or something like that; unfortunately, I can't remember the exact name, but their food is outstanding and reasonably priced.

Lee Ann

Maj & WhereAreWe great info, it is really appreciated, it gives us a great starting plan...definitely start hike @ Bear lake Sun a.m., after arriving and settling in sat afternoon.

WhereAreWe,
Lastly was wondering if we were to drive up to TRR & around TO Grand Lake, to get back to Estes Pk, do you have to go back same way or can you keep driving South from Grand Lk to get back to home base- Estes and how long does it take to get to grand lake if you started at RMNP entrance.
We thank everyone again for helping make our trip the best possible.

does anyone have suggestion for hotel/lodging in Boulder
and place to stay near great sand dunes,
thks

cjrey - what type of accommodation are you looking for in Boulder? We've always had people stay at the Quality Inn ( http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-boul...?promo=gglocal ) as it's affordable, comfortable, includes breakfast and free internet and is in a really convenient location. If you're looking for something more upscale\historical the Boulderado ( http://www.boulderado.com/ )is very nice. The Bradley Boulder Inn is meant to be lovely - http://www.thebradleyboulder.com/

hez, doesn't have to be anything special- although we're both picky on cleaniness. After being in estes/rmnp for 5 nites - 4 days, were just looking for an easy day of visiting Boulder, after drinking water water water probably want something stronger/ heavier, understand they have some nice restaurant/ bars.IS Quality Inn or Bradley boulder in vicinity of dt where we could walk around and get to most places--shops, bars, eats ? Thks for suggestions.

The Bradley Boulder is much fancier than Quality Inn and the location is better being right behind Pearl Street. Quality Inn will be between $100-$140 where Bradley Boulder is $195-$225. Quality Inn is about 5 or 6 blocks. My 75+ inn-laws have stayed at Quality Inn and walked all around without any problems. In fact we've had lots of people stay there and everyone thought it was good so we've never really considered putting anyone anywhere else.

If I was looking for somewhere for a nice, romantic weekend I would choose the Bradley though.

I just noticed this thread; I live in the Denver area, and have hiked and run a lot in the area. I would suggest, honestly, that you skip Denver, and spend more time in Boulder and the mountains. We've spent several "grownup weekends" in Boulder - amazing how far somehow feels when you want to take a break from your usual life.

The Bradley Boulder is a good place to stay. Boulder is a fun little town, with a huge amount of restaurants and outdoor activities; it's a great town to walk around in. My favorite place to run there is the path along Boulder Creek - it goes for miles. There are a number of local hiking trails; not found so much in guidebooks, but they make for great day hikes. (Boulderites use them for the daily exercise!) Because Boulder is in the foothills, those day hikes can be challenging, and some provide fabulous views, especially north to RMNP.

I'm not a big fan of RMNP, primarily because we have many other places we can visit in the mountains that have fewer people, and to which we can hike with our dog. If you get tired of the crowds in RMNP, there are many great hikes just outside the park, too. There used to be a ranger station in Estes Park; I remember getting info about those outside-the-park hikes there.

You've already gotten great advice about hiking and thunderstorms. It's so dry here, always carry water, use sunscreen, and enjoy!

lexma, thanks for info., we actually made reservations for Bradley Boulder earlier today..so good to hear you reccommended it.Boulder does sound like a fun town, even though both of us are in our 40's we like to get out and socialize, shop, and being able to walk to many places is very appealing to us. We live in Suburbs of Houston, Tx so we cant walk anywhere, only when we take golden retrievers for walks and run..which we do often, so that will be nice. Our first day is in Denver..need to adjust to altitude so we'll take it easy..any suggestions for Denver ?..staying @ Warwick downtown. Thanks again for input.

You sound like me - in my 40s, live in the suburbs where we have great biking/running paths, but can't walk to many places. I only have one Golden, though (but he definitely goes running with me!).

We actually stayed at the Bradley Boulder Inn to celebrate our 25th anniversary (we had to stay close because our holdest was starting junior high the following day, so we wanted to be home for that). You'll like it, and it's very convenient.

I can't help a huge amount with Denver. Even though I used to work downtown, any place we went out for dinner was either in Boulder or places not within walking distance of downtown. In Denver, I like Mizuna a lot, and its sister restaurant, Luca d'Italia. There's another sister restaurant on Larimer (a downtown street) that's supposed to be good, Osteria Marco. Larimer has other nice restaurants and shops. Another place to eat, which was me and my friends' favorite lunch spot, is Earl's, it would be good for dinner too. Rock Bottom Brewery has outdoor seating, though not really a view of anything but the street. Those are all west of your hotel, off the 16th street mall. There are a bunch of little restaurants east of your hotel; the hotel should be able to tell you more about them - I've seen them when driving through the area, but never stopped at most of them. Mizuna and Luca d'Italia are about a 10-block walk from your hotel.

I'm a litte too dismissive, probably, of Denver's attractions. I view Denver as a great lifestyle place to live with lots of access to outdoor activities, but not so good for cultural activities (for a point of reference, we lived in downtown Chicago and Boston before we moved here, so my viewpoint is a bit skewed). The new modern museum is striking architecturally, but I haven't been, so I don't know much about the collection. The Museum of Nature and Science is about average for a city of Denver's size.

You may not need to adjust much to the Denver altitude - some people do, some don't. My parents have never had a problem with that altitude; they don't start to feel it until we get up to Summit County (9,000+ feet).

we have notated the restaurants for Denver, wife loves Italian so she tahnks you.

cjrey, I lived in Denver for 13 years until about 18 mos ago.
you've already made some great choices! you're very smart to stop in denver first and adjust to the altitude. most people do feel it to some degree. i'll echo that the key is to drink tons of water.
Warwick's a decent choice as it's central. someone recommended Cherry Creek trail & Confluence Park and I'd wholeheartedly agree. 1 of the cool things about denver is that you don't have to run around in circles in a park - the trails go all over the place. that said, city park is a nice place to run & it's just east of your hotel. washington park is nicer but is further. just ask at your hotel the quickest way to the cherry creek trail. if you go south/east it takes you to the cherry creek neighborhood which has lots of great shops & restaurants. if you go north/west it will take you thru the edge of downtown, near larimer square (more cute shops & restaurants) to the confluence with the platte river. that neighborhood has seen some cool development lately and it's where the flagship REI store is that was mentioned above. Livestrong has some good routes at http://www.run.com/city.asp?dest=Denver+CO.
Agree with mizuna & luca d'italia as great restaurant recos. better, IMHO, is Barolo Grill - http://www.barologrilldenver.com/. northern italian, and they take the staff it italy every year (in fact check to make sure it's open when you're there) to visit the places where their wine, cheese, truffles etc come from. had 1 of the best breakfasts of my life when back visiting this winter at snooze - http://www.snoozeeatery.com/ - not far from your hotel. if you feel adventurous, there are several good ethiopian places along east colfax. and there's a fun new place within walking distance called cheeky monk - a belgian beer cafe. there's a great stretch of cute places along east 17th avenue you can walk to. happy to make other suggestions if you tell me what kind of food you like.
on to estes - i agree with whoever said don't try camping the 1st time in the mountains. it can just be dicey and in any case the campground are crowded over the holiday. better option that might give you a little feel of roughing it is to rent a cabin. i've never done so can't recommend any but there are tons to choose from. i've never had a memorable (in a good way) meal in estes so will pass on that. i have to agree that the trails around the bear lake area in RMNP will be pretty crowded, but beautiful nonetheless. i would also stress that the park is huge & if you go on monday instead of sunday crowds drop dramatically, and if you go to a less popular trailhead that's true too. absolutely recommend going to the ranger station at the entrance on sunday to ask for recommendations. there are some beautiful trails on the east side where you hardly see other hikers. ask about bridal veil falls, sandbeach lake, and lumpy ridge. i don't think 4 days is too much because you'll probably kill the better part of a day with your drive over TRR. might be wise to take a picnic lunch with you. the snack bar at the visitors center at the top is horrible. the souvenir shop there is quite lovely, and the whole place is worth a visit for its great views and frequent wildlife sitings. there's a cool and short hike just east of this visitors center near the peak of the road, think it's just called the tundra trail. please note that the tundra is a very fragile environment and don't go off trail or feed the animals (i'll stop preaching but this is a real sore point with me!).
an important reminder for hiking up here is to go early. your goal should be to be back below treeline (or in your car) by 1pm to avoid the inevitable thunderstorms that roll in, try to find a few hikers to spear with lightning bolts & quickly roll on to nebraska. no matter how nice it seems in estes, take a rain jacket, plenty of water & sunscreen (you'll be shocked how intense the sun is up there), & some extra snacks in case you get stuck somewhere for awhile.
you don't want to try going all the way across the park & back on the south side if you're heading to boulder next. pretty awesome route but lots of driving (you have to go all the way back down to I70). if you have a cruddy weather day & have nothing else to do though, go for it. if by chance you end up in winter park (way better food options than grand lake) for dinner, eat at the Backcountry Grill & tell Bob or Nancy (owners, he's almost always there) that Monica says hi.
Boulder - some fabulous restaurants. Frasca has won lots of national awards; it's run by 2 guys who worked at the French Laundry in Napa. The Kitchen is darn near as good and just a little cheaper. Very focused on local/organic sources, and also has a brunch to die for (the toffee french toast will make you swoon). Both of these have terrific wine lists too; Kitchen even has a comfy wine bar upstairs where they serve some of their menu too. There's another place sort of kitty-corner to the west across Pearl Street with a fun outdoor patio. Name & menu changed since I left but it will be obvious what I'm talking about. Best use is an afternoon drink on the patio:) There are some great trails right on the edge of town, one right through town along the creek, and lovely wandering along the Pearl Street Mall. Sounds like you're pretty active so I'd recommend checking out the Title 9 and Outdoor Divas stores for great women's activewear. Divas has clearance in the basement. Nothing's very cheap in either place but they have great stuff.
I think that's all I've got right now. Didn't spend too much time in COSprings because it was a PIA (really congested). Garden of the Gods is great but doesn't take long to do. The Broadmoor is a beautiful hotel/resort. Manitou Springs is a cute little place. I've spent very little time at Sand Dunes. Idea of swinging thru Taos/SantaFe is tempting but that's cramming a lot into too short a time. Next trip!
Feel free to ping me if this raises more questions. Have fun!!

sorry cjrey, just realized you mentioned a wife so she's the active woman not you! send HER to Title 9 & Outdoor Divas. btw, both have stores in the Cherry Creek North part of Denver too.

you could drive from Denver to Grand Lake(2h), stopping in Winter Park for dinner. Next morning hike to LuLu City. It's about 3.7 miles each way, but it's mostly very level and easy and goes along the Colorado River. You don't need to go the whole way as there really isn't much left at LuLu city itself, and it's the end of the trail where it gets more hilly. I've seen wildlife (deer, elk, marmots etc) every time on this trail. I think it's a nice intro to the park as it's easy and not terribly crowded, at least in the morning. From there, head over Trail Ridge Road and then down into Estes Park, stopping at all the lookouts etc.

This keeps you away from the busier parts of the park on Sunday, eases you in - and means you don't end up backtracking. I quite like the drive from Denver to Winter Park (through Berthoud Pass) and then on to Grand Lake as well. We saw a bear in Winter Park last time we had dinner there. Very exciting!

When you leave Estes Park you then head straight to Boulder without retracing your steps. Here's a map...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...24&ie=UTF8&z=9

hez & colomonica,
thanks to both for all the help & suggestions, my w wife & I are both responding so dont get too confused.
I like hez idea of getting to estes by way of winter pk/ grand lake, will give you schedule and see if you think doable otherwise was going to dr up i-25 to hwy 34 so not to repeat boulder hwy which we will be coming to from estes,so if you dont mind going to give schedule if you want to comment or suggest particular activity relative to location. KEEPING in mind we have booked all nights for reservations except last nite before we head back to Houston, Tx. Didnt want too mess with reser. being busy time we are going, here it goes :
day 1- thur 07/02 - drive to denver -arrive late eve-warwick
day 2 - fri 7/3 - spend it denver - eve - warwick
day 3 - Sat 7/4 - head to rmnp/estes pk - stone brook cabin -estes pk -3 nites
day 4 - Sun- estes/rmnp - hiking, sightseeing, etc
day 5 - Mon - estes/rmnp - more hiking early, afternoon open
day 6 -- Tue - change cabins to Woodlands Inn - estes pk
day 7 - Wed - go rafting @ wanderlist - just N. of ft collins
back to cabin, last eve. in estes pk area.
Day 8 - Thur - head to Boulder early . a.m. - stay Bradley Boulder.
day 9 - possibly looking to stay most of day in Boulder instead of trying to fit in Co. Springs/ sand dunes. Evening start dr. south to be closer to Houston for very early Sat
a.m. drive home....
We are very much looking forward to our trip and can't thank everyone enough for all the suggestions. We have a daughter starting her freshman yr @ Univ of Tx in August so we thought we better go while we can,. Come to think of it, would be good excuse to drive to Boulder when UT & CO. play there in coming yrs.

As long as you leave early enough on Saturday you'll be fine going through Winter Park. I've done it on a day trip the whole way around - ie Boulder, Estes Park, 2 hikes in RMNP, Grand Lake, Winter Park and back to Boulder via I70/CO96 through Golden.

If you're leaving Estes Park early a.m. then try to hold out to have breakfast at Lucille's ( http://www.luciles.com/ )in Boulder. It's been the #1 breakfast place forever - and it is fabulous!

You can absolutely do this. I do love the drive through WP over Berthoud Pass! We used to have a 2nd home in WP. It's not very charming as towns go, but the scenery's lovely.
I vote in favor of staying in Boulder an extra day & skipping the Springs/Dunes.
I don't think anyone mentioned this either - plan on at least one day to roam into RMNP either early morning or dusk. That's when the most wildlife are about. You should at least be able to see some elk, & maybe moose or bighorn sheep.

Hez.... going to take your suggestion and leave early Friday morning from for towards Estes/rmnp by going route of Winter Pk & Grand Lake. Should have time to make stops and sightsee since check in is not till mid-afternoon @ cabin. Also have been told about Lucille's and will definitely take your advice if not the Thursday we head to Boulder for sure Friday a.m., hopefully we will be able to get in. Many thanks again.

colomonica;
leaning too staying fri eve. in Boulder. We already ruled out dunes/ co. sprgs.....only question is do we hang out in Boulder all day w/o rm. based on 12:00 checkout and then towards eve. start our drive towards Houston. Starting our trip we are driving Hou to Denver -one day- total about 16 hrs with 3 short stops. Boulder would add another 45-60 mins ? coming home I believe. That would be only concern, definitely want to make it home late sat.
Either way we plan on spending majority of 2 days in Boulder with or w/o room 2nd day. LAST question is town of Raton big enough where it has some kind hotels/ motel, place looking at making it to Friday evening to start Sat. drive to suburbs of Houston. Thks for advice on wildlife will definitely do that.