Trail Ridge Rd is 48 mi long (between the Beaver Meadows and Grand Lake Entrance Stations). I have read that it takes 3 hours to drive it. Yet, I phoned a ranger there, and she said that on a low-traffic day, she has driven it non-stop in 90 minutes. Any comments about the discrepancy? (I do plan to drive it at a low-traffic time of year.)

Or put it another way it can take from 90 minutes to an hour and half depending on traffic. Not sure what you want to argue about. Most people take about 3 hours because they tend to drive slow, look around, pull off, stop at the top, etc. and that all takes time. If you are just going to drive from one side to the other as quickly as possible then 90 mins is reasonable providing traffic is light and weather is good. Remember the Ranger has seem it many times and knows the road. Why the rush?

Another good drive is the Fall River Road.

Are you just driving the Trail Ridge Road from Point A to Point B or are you interested in scenic views, stops, wildlife, pullouts, etc? Heck, I stopped at watched Elk for a good 45 minutes. A stop at the snack bar/gift shop at the top is 30 or 45 minutes.

I just drove it from Estes Park to Grand Lake and back yesterday. The ranger is right, it could easily be driven in 90 minutes, providing the weather is good, you are comfortable driving mountain roads at normal speeds, and there are no accidents or other obstacles.

On the other hand, I took longer than 9 hours to make the round trip because I stopped to look at views,explore a little, and photograph both elk and moose in the fields near the road.

I suppose there are reasons why some one would want to drive it that fast but, IMO, it would be a terrible waste of a terrifically scenic road.

dwooddon,
Fall Folliage yet? aspens turning?

Turning now

The long range forecast for the end of next week is heavy mountain snow. Which could have a huge impact on Trail Ridge in a hurry.

Fmpden, I'm hoping to head up to Trail Ridge next weekend, what source are you using? I haven't seen anything predicting heavy mountain snow just more mild weather. I don't place a lot of faith in any long term forecast but now I'm curious.

I think long term forecast for the mountains is often pretty good. But who knows.

weather.com's 10 day forecast through Oct 3 doesn't show snow at all. High's in the mid 50's, low's in the mid 30's.