Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Road

Story of the Byway

Despite the brevity of this byway, Trail Ridge Road and Beaver Meadow Road exemplify the alpine beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. With peaks visible in all directions, the ground tundra exhibits wildflowers in summer and snowy caps in winter. At an elevation of 12,183 feet, this route is the highest than any other paved road in the country. It is also home to much wildlife—spy elk, bighorn sheep and other wildlife can be seen grazing meadows and traversing crags. This cliff-hugging highway offers endless peaks, valleys and lakes.

Starting in Estes Park, the drive travels over the Continental Divide to Colorado River’s headwaters and ends in the town of Grand Lake. Longs Peak Flat is a 14,259 foot summit—the tallest in Rocky Mountain National Park—that resides south of Estes Park. A short nature trail arrives at Enos Mills Cabin Museum, where visitors can learn about the influence of the naturalist who fathered the park. Also in the area is Stanley Museum, an exhibit devoted to steam cars and homage to F.O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile. Continue past the Stanley Hotel into the park itself, and stop at the Fall River Visitor Center for information about the area. Deeper into the National Park will reveal West Horseshoe Park, known for its wildlife, and Old Fall River Road, the first road to cross the Continental Divide.

This route passes through Chasm Falls and and Fall River Pass. After the Horseshoe Park Overlook, the road begins to climb into a series of switchbacks and overlooks. Visitors will pass a boardwalk where beavers are busy building in their natural habitat. Greenback cutthroat trout have also been reintroduced in the lakes here, saving it from near extinction. As the drive continues above sea level, sub alpine forests start to appear, with aspen and ponderosa pine visible in every direction. Approaching the treeline, an alpine tundra of stunted trees clings to rock and turns to rolling hills of grass and flowers once there. Rainbow Curve Overlook offers views of a large canyon and the park’s most renowned peaks. Further north, Forest Canyon Overlook offers a U-shaped glacial valley known as Forest Canyon.

The air thins as this route reaches its highest point, 12,183 feet, where visitors can stop at the Alpine Visitor Center for information about hiking trails and wildlife. Thereafter the road quickly descends and returns to alpine forest and trout lakes. Two miles after the Continental Divide is the Fairview Curve Overlook, which looks onto the Kawuneeche Valley and Never Summer Mountains.

As the road descends, the route passes trailheads, picnic areas and old mining towns. Prior to exiting the park is the Holzwarth Historic Site, a 1920s-style dude ranch sometimes referred to as Never Summer Ranch. Climate shifts continue to be noticeable, especially on the west side of the divide. Stop by the Rocky Mountain National Park Visitor Center at Kawuneeche to explore some of the wildlife and plants in the area. The byway concludes after the park and onward to Grand Lake and the Colorado River Headwaters Byway.