Rocky Mountain National Park Day 3

Day 3- The peak to peak scenic byway

This drive begins in Estes Park and runs along Hwy 7 down the East side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Along the first portion of the drive there are many access points to the National Park. Lily Lake trail, part of RMNP is a .9 mile loop around the lake. This is an easy hike and is level with packed gravel. There is also the Wild Basin Trail which gives access to several waterfalls within Rocky Mountain National Park.

Continuing on the byway, you take a right onto Hwy 72. Just before Ward, CO, there is a great turn off for a small roadside waterfall and some hiking trails. Jonathan took the opportunity to fish at this river and we ate our packed lunch.

In Nederland you catch Hwy 119 and continue on the scenic byway. We have a Colorado State Park pass and so we decided on a quick detour through Golden Gate Canyon State Park to check out Panorama Point. This gives some beautiful views back toward the National Park.

As you continue on, you come to Black Hawk which is a casino town. This was a fun chance for us to reminisce about a trip we took years ago where we stumbled across this same little town. From there you continue on the Central City Parkway to Idaho Springs, CO a super adorable town.

If you follow most online directions, the scenic byway ends here. We, however, had Mt. Evans as our goal. Shortly after Echo Lake Park we came to the gate. They do require a reservation system however when we stopped at the gate they gave us a driving only pass and we were able to continue on.

Mount Evans is America’s highest paved road. As we drove up the winding road we reached Summit lake park. 12,860 feet in elevation. Here we saw dozens of yellow bellied marmot. They love to lay in the road and lick the salt. It was 59° but feels more like freezing. As we continued on toward the summit, the road narrows and was a little nerve-racking with our dooley back end.

Between Summit Lake Park and the actual summit of Mount Evans, we saw several mountain goats. The summit of Mount Evans is a staggering 14271 feet in elevation!

Now, here is where our story gets interesting…

Just in case y’all are wondering how God works… this morning Jonathan ”randomly” decided to buy some antifreeze/coolant for our vehicle. We “randomly” decided to drive toward Mt Evans in Colorado. We “randomly” made a bunch of stops, fished, hiked, ate lunch etc. As evening approached and we headed down the mountain, we “randomly” stopped at a pull off with bathrooms. As we got back in our truck Jonathan noticed the only other car around was smoking. He called out to the guy that he might be having car problems. Jonathan helped him out and added some coolant and we followed the guy back down the mountain. If that was the end of the story that would still be super cool. BUT. As the guy pulled over to say thanks, I looked at him and said, “hey, what’s your name?” Turns out it was my childhood friend Amy’s husband Daniel and their son, Jett! From Georgia! Just, you know, “randomly” up on a mountain in Colorado. Another factoid.. Daniel and I both stood up in Becky's wedding about a million years ago!

After waving goodbye to Jett and Daniel, we headed on towards Idaho Springs, CO. The town shuts down their main street in order to allow the local restaurants to put out tables and tents for outdoor eating. There was even some great live music playing from several spots on the street. We decided to stop at Tommyknocker Brewery and Pub.Their Blood Orange IPA was great and the Barbecued Pulled Pork with Garlic Truffle Fries was delicious! And they are a Fido Friendly establishment!

As we started our drive back towards Estes Park, we enjoyed the sunset and we even were gifted with a bear that ran across the road in front of our car! He was too fast for my camera but we still have the memory for our minds. Overall, we love the Peak to Peak drive and we highly recommend Mount Evans!