Rocky Mountain National Park Self-Guided Audio Tour

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. This beautiful town is a the place to stop before your trip. There’s one seasonal cafe and no gas in Rocky Mountain National Park, so make sure to stock up on all the supplies you need before you get there. There’s numerous picnic areas in the park, so keep that in mind when shopping. Estes Park has plenty of shops and gas stations, and if you’re coming from farther away, you’ll have even more options.

   5 min

2. Here’s a perfect place to pick up a trail map. It’s chock full of information that’ll help you decide which trails are right before you. It also has park maps, bathrooms, gifts and souvenirs.

   15 min

3. This is a wonderful place to learn about the park’s geology and history. In fact, the building itself has quite the historical significance. It’s the last standing building that was part of the Moraine Park Lodge, a place popular with tourists when the park was a popular vacation destination.

   15 min

4. At the Bear Lake Trailhead you’ll have the option to hike several different trails. The quickest, and most popular, is the Bear Lake Trail which takes around 15 minutes. But there’s others that range from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours.

   15 min

5. Like most trailheads in the park, this one also offers access to several different trails. Many are long though! If you’re up for an easy, just over three-hour hike, we recommend the Glacier Gorge Trail. It’s popular for birding and camping.

   1.8 h

6. Just over three miles long, this trail is popular for snowshoeing, horseback riding, and of course, a gorgeous lake.

   1.8 h

7. What gives this valley its name is the glacial melt that carved it into the shape of a horseshoe millions of years ago. Today, it’s home to spacious meadows that attract wildlife.

   5 min

8. As the name suggests, here you’ll find park information and exhibits. It’s located right by the four beautiful Sheep Lakes. It’s also a popular spot for bighorn sheep and elk.

   30 min

9. What’s an alluvial fan, you ask? Well, it’s where water cascades over boulders moved there by a massive flood in 1982. A sort of waterfall, really. This easy trail passes right by it.

   10 min

10. Here you can take a five-minute walk along a boardwalk through wetlands created by beavers. Long ago beavers built a dam and organic material gathered behind it. Once it collapsed, that soil flowed out, creating the wetlands there today.

    5 min

11. At this peaceful stop, you’ll find an easy, half-mile nature trail, picnic tables, and flush toilets. It’s a lovely place to stretch your legs and breathe in the fresh air.

    15 min

12. From this one you’ll see Horseshoe Park, Moraine Park, and Beaver Meadows. There are viewing platforms around the entire curve for different perspectives.

    5 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 8 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Estes Park

• Its from-price is 88% below the median of the 81 experiences we list in Estes Park.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 32 of 81.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Estes Park

Estes Park is a mountain town at the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, known for elk, alpine lakes and a historic hotel.

Estes Park lies at about 2,300 metres in a valley of the Colorado Rockies, along the Big Thompson River and beside Lake Estes. It is the main eastern entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. The town centre has timber-fronted shops, a riverwalk and the Stanley Hotel, a white Colonial Revival hotel on a hill that opened in 1909 and inspired Stephen King's novel The Shining.

Top-ranked sights in Estes Park: Downtown Estes Park.

See all 81 experiences in Estes Park