Rocky Mountains National Park, in Colorado

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he other week, me and my two sisters drove to Colorado and stayed in Estes Park, Co, a mountain town just east of the entrance to the Rocky Mountains National Park, off of highway 34. (Just west of highway 25). I enjoyed my second (and probably LAST) visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. We are not hardcore hikers, and beyond that, my mom has a heart condition and is generally out of shape (sorry, mom, but it's true - ha). These are the nice, short hikes we did in the park, if anyone in a similar situation ever sees this and wants to take notes: *Bear Lake - this is the most popular trail on the east side of the park, not for Bear Lake itself, but because the trail leads to a series of lakes, leading to a total of 4 lakes, several miles and over 1,200 feet total in elevation gain. The lake at the top (I forget the name) is supposed to very pretty. We made it to the second lake, only up 250 feet, Nymph Lake, and then turned around and went back. If you are looking for the path less taken, this is probably not it. If you want a quick 1/2 mile loop around a picturesque lake, choose the Bear Lake loop trail. *Bear Lake to Sprague Lake Trail - 2.8 miles - this was a nice "off the beaten path" trail that actually connects the trailheads of Bear Lake and Sprague Lake. While just looking at the paperwork online, these trails don't seem to *exist* or are not easily found. This trail was a nice one, though - it was relatively flat and crossed by two waterfalls and lots of wooded area. A very nice trail to get away from some of the people, but also to get some distance in without also getting in the elevation gain. *Sprague Lake. This is one of the more understated lakes that is super easy to hike around, .8 miles and minimal elevation gain. A ranger in the park told me that if you want to see Moose bathing in the lake, to come in the morning-early morning during the summer. (We went in afternoon and saw zero moose). *Lily Lake. This lake is located outside of the park (still technically considered part of the park, so you do need a permit, but it's located outside of the park, if that makes sense). This is also a loop around a lake, less than 1 mile long. I liked this lake a lot, it wasn't super popular when we went, and it was FULL of dragonflies, and interesting looking fish in the water. Other adventures in & around the park: *Driving to the tallest part of the rocky mountains (in the park), which sits at 12,100 feet. If you follow Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park, eventually you will get up into the tundra area. The trees suddenly stop growing, and the ground is tundra, rock. The temp drops dramatically as well as the oxygen. There is a visitor center ("Alpine visitor center") at the top of the mountains. If you are not driving: take a peek out at mountains and spot lakes high up! It's crazy! *Estes Park has several breweries (I prefer my own in Minneapolis, MN but that is just my opinion) - Rock Cut (favorite), Estes Park Brewery, Lumpy Ridge. Even with COVID, you can still get items to go or socially distance in a patio seat. *The Stanley Hotel. Located in Estes Park, this is a historic "haunted" hotel which Stephen King was inspired by to write "The Shining". You can pay $20 and take a tour. Or, you can be like me, drive up to the entrance, take a quick picture, and then leave quick (and listen to a podcast about some of the haunted stories). What I liked a lot about Estes Park is that masks are REQUIRED inside any business. Social distancing measures are enforced. It's refreshing to see the tourism industry *work* with these new standards, and people COMPLYING to the standards. Minnesota needs to work on that (AND South Dakota in my opinion). One interesting tidbit is in order to get into RMNP you do have to make a "reservation" - they are only allowing 60% capacity into the park. Have you been to this park before, or any interesting park lately?