Rocky Mountain National Park has a wonderful concentration of diverse wildlife. Over several days, as we explored the park and surrounding areas, we saw Yellow Bellied Marmots, Moose, Elk, Mule Deer, Bear and Mountain Goats. So where did we find these exquisit creatures?
Elk and Muel Deer are abundant inside Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw them on almost every road that we drove. They were along the Bear Lake Road and we saw some on the hike to Alberta Falls. We also saw them on Hwy 34 near the Sheep Lakes wildlife viewing area as well as along Fall River Road.
The Moose were a little more elusive. They like to come out in the evening around 8:00 pm or close to dusk. In the evening they like to graze near the winding Colorado river in the Kawuneeche Valley. On the East side we saw this beautiful guy hanging out between Beaver Pond and the Deer Ridge Junction Trailhead
Yellow Bellied Marmots love the higher elevation. We saw some on Trail Ridge Road. The highest concentration of Marmots was found near Mt. Evans, part of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. They love to lick the salt and will "play possum" by laying in the middle of the road making you think they are road kill. At the last minue they will jump up and scurry away.
We saw one Black Bear on our evening drive home along the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. This guy lumbered quickly across the road. He caught us by surprise and was too fast for my camera.
The Mountain Goats also love the higher elevation and we found them on the road to Mt. Evans about 1/2 way between Summit Lake and the Summit of Mt. Evans.
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