The last stop on our 2025 summer road trip was Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado is a beautiful state and it was fascinating to compare the topography of this park to the other two Colorado parks we visited (Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes). We visited Rocky Mountain National Park on three days during our stay in Estes Park, and we still didn’t see all of it! Read through the end to see all our tips for visiting Rocky Mountain National Park with kids.
visiting Rocky Mountain National Park with kids
Nestled in northern Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park is one of those incredible places that you have to see to believe. I thought I knew what it would be like, but much like visiting the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park makes you feel small in the best way possible.
Estes Park is the gateway to the eastern entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. That, combined with the fact that it’s only about 70 miles from Denver, it’s easy to see why this park draws so many visitors each year. In fact, Rocky Mountain National Park sees somewhere between 4 and 4.5 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular national parks in the entire park system.
all about Rocky Mountain National Park
Before visiting Rocky Mountain National Park with kids this summer, I had no idea how diverse the park was. The terrain here covers everything from jagged mountain peaks dotted with alpine lakes, sweeping meadows filled with wildflowers in the summer, and a sparsely vegetated tundra.
Trail Ridge Road, specifically, climbs over 5,000 feet from the valley floor. It offers dramatic views and a pathway to the highest visitor center in the national park system. But keep in mind that this road is only open seasonally due to snow. We lucked out during our late June trip that they had experienced a more mild winter as sometimes this road doesn’t open until July.
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Speaking of weather, temperatures in the park vary greatly depending on the time of year. Summers tend to be mild. Daytime highs are typically in the 70s. Winters bring heavy snow and frigid conditions that can drop well below freezing. Not surprisingly, the high season for visitors is June through September when trails are accessible and wildlife sightings are more likely. The colder months are the low season, drawing fewer crowds due to road closures and lack of accessibility.
The region of the park and elevation you’re visiting also greatly affects the temperature. On the day we drove up Trail Ridge Road we started in t-shirts and ended up in sweatshirts, coats, gloves, and beanies.
great hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park with kids
On our first day in Rocky Mountain National Park we visited the Hidden Valley Ranger Station. This is actually the Junior Ranger Headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park–more on that later. A great hike for all ages at this location is the Hidden Valley Nature Trail. This trail is only .5 mile and is relatively flat. It’s also paved and has plenty of interpretative signs along the way.
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On our second day exploring Rocky Mountain National Park with kids we had reservations for Bear Lake Road Corridor. I’ll break down Rocky Mountain National Park reservations in a bit. We took advantage of our access to Bear Lake Road and squeezed in several short hikes and nature walks. Here are the trails our family of nine took:
- – Sprague Lake Loop, .7 mile roundtrip loop: very easy trail and level around Sprague Lake. Plenty of parking and bathrooms at the parking lake.
- – Alberta Falls, 1.6 miles out and back trail: 471 foot elevation gain. Parking and bathrooms at the Bear Lake Trailhead. This hike is definitely more on the moderate side, especially when factoring in the elevation.
- – Bear Lake Loop, .6 mile roundtrip loop: easy trail around Bear Lake with lots of places to stop and sit around the lake. Parking and bathrooms at the Bear Lake Trailhead.
Our last day in Rocky Mountain National Park we drove up Trail Ridge Road to the tundra. There are several hikes and trails you can explore up here. However, an easy one to do with kids is the Tundra Communities Trail. This is 1.2 miles roundtrip out and back across the tundra where you can see the hardy tundra plants and spot a pika or marmot amongst the rocks.
There are several other hikes that would be great for families visiting Rocky Mountain National Park with kids, but this list is a great place to start!
what makes the Junior Ranger Program in Rocky Mountain National Park so great
Hidden Valley is tucked along Trail Ridge Road. It’s less than 10 miles from either the Beaver Meadows or Fall River park entrances. In the winter you can go sledding here, but in the summer it’s the Junior Ranger Headquarters for the Rocky Mountains. During the summer season, families can go there to pick up Junior Ranger activity booklets.
There are also plenty of park rangers to talk to and you can borrow “explorer bags” full of tools for discovery, such as magnifying glasses or cards to identify plants and animal tracks. We got here right as they opened one morning and it became quite busy quickly! A stop here is definitely a must when visiting Rocky Mountain National Park with kids.
You can download the Rocky Mountain Junior Ranger booklet for each age group here.
Rocky Mountain National Park regions and reservations
There are three distinct districts in Rocky Mountain National Park. They have different highlights, and different seasonal accessibility, so it’s important to understand each one. You will also need a reservation for Rocky Mountain National Park from 9 am to 2 pm during high season. We never had a reservation except for our Bear Lake day. However, as we like to get going early, it wasn’t a problem for us.
Fall River and Alpine Tundra
This is the area of the park you will arrive in first if you enter from Estes Park. Both the Beaver Meadows Entrance Station and the Fall River Entrance Station are located on the eastern side of the park. This part of the park contains three visitors centers: Fall River, Beaver Meadows, and Alpine centers. Note that Alpine Visitor Center is closed in winter.
This is also the region where the Hidden Valley Junior Ranger Headquarters are. This is also only open as the Junior Ranger Headquarters during the summer months. So, keep in mind that just because snow hasn’t arrived yet, many of the services in the park may not be available to you.
Seasonal roads in this park district are the Trail Ridge Road that connects the west and east side of the park, and Old Fall River Road. This is a one-way, narrow dirt road with no guardrails and tight switchbacks. My kids vetoed us driving on that one, haha. Trail Ridge Road is the gateway to the unique tundra landscape of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is well worth the drive!
Bear Lake Road Corridor
This region of the park is most easily accessed from the Bear Meadows Entrance Station. You will need a “Timed Entry + Bear Lake Road” reservation to drive down Bear Lake Road anytime from 5 am to 6 pm during high season. Otherwise you can take the Bear Lake Route shuttle. Shuttles can be kind of tricky for our family of nine, so we were able to secure a timed entry reservation for this road for a Sunday afternoon.
Because of the timed entry system in place I was expecting crowds along this road to be terrible. However, we enjoyed low crowds and plenty of parking options everywhere we went. The Moraine Park Discovery Center is also located along this road. It is a great shop and visitor center for the kids.
Kawuneeche Valley
This is the western part of the park that , unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit on this trip. Access from the eastern side of the park is via Trail Ridge Road, or the town of Grand Lake, Colorado. This side of the park is well known for its moose population. We didn’t see any moose during our trip, but we did see plenty of elk in other parts of the park!
If you’re exploring the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park with kids you’ll also want to check out the Holzwarth Historic Site. The Holzwarth family used the Homestead Act of 1862 (anyone else ever seen Far and Away?) to make a home in the Rocky Mountains. Generations operated the buildings and businesses into the 1970s.
Have you ever been to Rocky Mountain National Park with kids?
Follow along with our family’s adventures on Instagram!
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