North Central Region
Trail Ridge Road, Estes Park / Grand Lake, CO

Trail Ridge Road in Colorado's spectacular Rocky Mountain National Park is the highest point-to-point highway in the country, and goes over the continental divide between Estes Park and Grand Lake.

The road is 48 miles long between Estes Park on the border of the Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Lake, a beautiful mountain town on the shores of the largest natural lake in Colorado. Initial construction took three years, from 1929 to 1932.

Eight miles of the highway are above 11,000 feet, mostly above timberline.

Trail Ridge Road is only open from about Memorial Day until mid-September because of snow. It takes an average of 42 days starting in April to snowplow the highway for its annual opening. Current road conditions are at (970)586-1206.

The drive is spectacular. Visitors start in lush pine and aspen forests, then quickly climb 4,000 feet to an alpine tundra landscape, displaying high-altitude wildflowers, wildlife viewing, and incredible drop-offs into lower-altitude valleys all around.

There are many pull-outs for viewing the scenery, and several of the stops have hiking trails. Most anyone not acclimated to this altitude will find themselves quickly short of breath.

At the higher elevations, pikas, marmots, ptarmigans and bighorn sheep inhabit the ecology, and plants hug the ground for protection from the elements. Lower down, moose and elk inhabit the lush forests and streambeds.

From the east side, an alternate route up is Old Fall River Road, good for SUVs, trucks, and cars able to handle rougher roads. This unpaved road is more spectacular than the main road by far, and is steep, unpaved, and one-way, going up.

The road on top is spectacular, winding its way through an alpine tundra ecology with impressive drop-offs and mountain tops the entire way. The Visitors Center at the west end of the eleven-mile above-timberline section is good for a rest stop, information, and a cup of hot chocolate. Many visitors from the eastern Estes Park side find this a convenient place to turn around.

For those continuing on the Grand Lake, the final miles along the Kawuneeche Valley provides tremendous moose-viewing opportunities along a marshy, willow-infested meandering Colorado River, almost at its headwaters.

Trail Ridge Road is one of Colorado's best vehicle tours for anyone visiting Colorado.