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Established as the tenth national park in 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park preserves 416 square miles of some of the most splendid alpine environment in the continental United States. With 114 peaks more than 10,000 feet high and sixty peaks exceeding an elevation of 12,000 feet, Rocky Mountain National Park is the highest national park in the contiguous 48 states. Visitors have ready access to the alpine tundra via the park's Trail Ridge Road that crests at 12,183 feet, higher than any other paved through-road in the nation.
DID YOU KNOW
- The park preserves some of the finest examples of physiographic, biologic, and scenic features of the southern Rocky Mountains including alpine tundra, snowy peaks, glaciers, the headwaters of the Colorado River, great canyons, free flowing waters, and a wealth of high-elevation plants and animals.
- Covering 266,862 acres, the park has 110 miles of frontcountry roads and 352 miles of trails and is visited by 3.3 million people each year.
- Rocky Mountain National Park is home to 911 native vascular plant species, 285 species of birds, six state listed and one federally listed endangered and threatened species (greenback cutthroat trout), and easily-viewed populations of large mammals including elk and bighorn sheep.
- Rocky Mountain operates four entrance stations, six visitor centers, nearly 600 frontcountry campsites and over 250 backcountry campsites.
DON'T MISS ATTRACTIONS
- Rocky Mountain National Park is an area to be experienced and enjoyed in any number of ways: drive scenic roads, hike over 352 miles of trails, camp in one of frontcountry or backcountry campsites, visit one of our visitor centers, fish, horseback ride, bird watch, rock climb, photograph, and just enjoy one of the special places of this great land.
- View Rocky Mountain National Park's spectacular and inspiring new orientation film, Spirit of the Mountains, which debuted this summer. It is shown every half hour using new state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center.
- Trail Ridge Road, a 48-mile stretch of winding highway that has been designated a "National Scenic Byway" and an "All-American Road," bisects the park east to west and reaches 12,183 feet at its highest point. Spectacular views surround visitors as they travel over the tundra and cross the Continental Divide.
- One of the special features of Rocky Mountain National Park is the vast expanse of tundra, the "land above the trees." Exhilarate your senses with sweeping alpine views and miniature wildflower gardens on a Tundra Nature Walk, offered every day at 10:30 a.m. at the Alpine Visitor Center. This is just one of many Ranger-led programs in the park.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRIORITIES
The National Park Service is reconstructing the upper 4.3 miles of Bear Lake Road from Sprague Lake to Bear Lake. One of the most popular and scenic roads in Rocky Mountain National Park, Bear Lake Road provides visitors with year-round access to a variety of recreation opportunities. Bear Lake Road was completed in 1928 and no significant improvements have been made in 75 years. The project will correct structural deficiencies in the roadway, improve inadequate pullout and parking design, and widen the road to accommodate shuttle bus operations and facilitate snow removal.
Other projects are underway at Rocky Mountain National Park, including the restoration of valuable wetlands to provide habitat for native wildlife, and the restoration of five outdoor amphitheaters located at campgrounds where ranger-conducted education programs are featured each night during the summer season. Across the National Park System, the priority President Bush and the National Park Service have placed on improving facilities and historic structures, maintaining trails and roads, and protecting natural resources is improving conditions in the parks and providing better services for the visiting public.
 Artist's conception of rebuilt Bear Lake Road.
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LINKS:
Rocky Mountain National Park Home Page»
Partnering
& Managing for Excellence Report»
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