Auto Tour, Rocky Mountain National Park
Explore Auto Tour in Rocky Mountain National Park with grouped stops, trails, and related park places collected under the same planning theme.
Auto Tour Stops and Trip Ideas
Use this Auto Tour guide to compare the stops that belong together in Rocky Mountain National Park, then decide which ones deserve map time or a saved trip stop.
West Side
Colorado RiverFrom its headwaters at Poudre Pass, the Colorado River runs 1,440 miles southwest.
East Side
Fall River Visitor CenterThe Fall River Visitor Center is open daily March to October, weekends only the rest of the year.
East Side
Aspenglen CampgroundThis campground was the scene of tragedy when the Lawn Lake dam failed in 1982.
East Side
Sheep LakesThis area of Horseshoe Park is one of the best places to see Rocky Mountain wildlife.
East Side
Sheep Lakes Bighorn CrossingThe sheep cross Highway 34, aided by park rangers and volunteers who stop traffic.
East Side
Alluvial FanThe 1982 dam collapses inundated Horseshoe Park leaving a 42-acre alluvial fan of debris.
East Side
Endovalley Picnic AreaThis picnic area along the Fall River is known for its pretty meadows and has 32 picnic tables.
East Side
West Horseshoe Park/Horseshoe InnGlaciers carved this valley and deposited the sands that became the meadows of West Horseshoe Park.
East Side
Woodpecker ArmyThe first Civilian Conservation Corps camp west of the Mississippi River was established in Littler Horseshoe Park in 1933.
East Side
Beaver Meadows Visitor CenterFeatures a post-modernist style by Thomas Casey, an apprentice to famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
East Side
Upper Beaver Meadow Picnic AreaThis small picnic area offers views of open meadows and the Continental Divide.
East Side
Bear Lake RoadConnects Upper Beaver Meadows and Bear Lake, where you'll find several popular hiking trails.
East Side
Moraine Park Visitor CenterFeatures a natural-history exhibit, a bookstore, and an information desk.
East Side
Historic Moraine ParkThe meadows of Moraine Park were where Arapaho Indians once made ceremonial pipes.
East Side
Hollowell ParkThis compact meadow has a small picnic area as well as the trailhead for the Hollowell Park Trail.
East Side
Trail of AspensThe slash of color you see on this hillside is nature's response to a scar left on the landscape by men.
East Side
Glacier Basin CampgroundThe Glacier Basin Campground is open late May through mid-September and has 150 camping sites.
East Side
Sprague LakeThis 13-acre lake was part of a tourist resort operated by Abner and Alberta Sprague from 1910 to 1940.
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East Side
Glacier Gorge Trailhead/Alberta FallsAlberta Falls is just over a half-mile from the trailhead -- one of the most popular spots in the park.
East Side
Bear Lake TrailheadYou have your choice of easy or difficult hikes from the Bear Lake Trailhead.
East Side
Bear LakeBear Lake Road is open year round, making Bear Lake itself one of the park's most popular destinations.
East Side
Lily Lake TrailheadPretty Lily Lake features a 3/4-mile, handicapped-accessible lakeshore loop trail.
East Side
Estes ConeThe 6.6-mile roundtrip hike to Estes Cone passes the remains of the Eugenia Mine.
East Side
Longs Peak TrailheadThe square-topped, 14,259-foot Longs Peak is one of Rocky Mountain National Park's most distinctive landmarks.
East Side
Longs Peak CampgroundOpen year-round, Long's Peak Campground has 26 campsites for tents only.
East Side
Wild Basin TrailheadThe strenuous, 6-mile trail to Bluebird Lake begins at the Wild Basin Trailhead.
West Side
Timber Creek CampgroundThis campground has 98 campsites available on a first-come, first-served basis.
West Side
Holzwarth Historic SiteOne of the few structures of the early tourism trade that flourished in the park.
West Side
Coyote Valley TrailThis roughly one-mile, handicapped-accessible loop trail crosses the banks of the Colorado River.
West Side
Harbison MeadowThe site of twin homesteads established by Annie and Kitty Harbison in 1895.
West Side
Kawuneeche Visitor CenterThis visitor center is open daily year-round, although hours vary.
Trail Ridge Road
Deer Ridge JunctionThis is the meeting point of Trail Ridge Road -- also known as Highway 34 -- and Highway 36.
Trail Ridge Road
Deer Ridge Jct. TrailheadThe Deer Mountain Trail begins here - it's a moderately difficult, 3-mile, one-way hike to the summit.
Trail Ridge Road
Beaver PondsA half-century of industrious work by beavers and natural succession have helped transform a pond.
Trail Ridge Road
Hidden ValleyThe Hidden Valley Ski Area, also known as Ski Estes Park, operated here from 1955 to 1991.
Trail Ridge Road
Many Parks CurveThe "parks" referred to at this scenic pulloff are another name for the mountain-enclosed meadows you see here.
Trail Ridge Road
Rainbow CurveThe twisted, stunted trees you see here scratch out an existence two miles above sea level.
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Trail Ridge Road
Ute TrailThis 4.4-mile trail is mostly downhill and offers some spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains alpine landscape.
Trail Ridge Road
Forest Canyon OverlookImagine a time when ice 1,500 feet thick filled the valley below.
Trail Ridge Road
Rock CutIt's a little bit amazing that anything grows on the harsh Arctic tundra you see here.
Trail Ridge Road
Tundra Communities TrailheadOffers an overview of the arctic tundra environment at the upper elevations of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Trail Ridge Road
Iceberg PassA notch in the mountain range standing at 11,827 feet between Rock Cut and the Lava Cliffs.
Trail Ridge Road
Lava CliffsAn area of volcanic rock laid down by eruptions in the Never Summer Mountains.
Trail Ridge Road
Highest point on roadThe high point on Trail Ridge Road stands at 12,183 at this spot.
Trail Ridge Road
Gore RangeLook out beyond the tundra here for a view of the Gore Range -- these mountains are about 60 miles away.
Trail Ridge Road
Alpine Visitor CenterWeather dependent, open daily from Memorial Day weekend in May to mid-October.
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Trail Ridge Road
Old Fall River RoadFrom Horseshoe Park, scenic Old Fall River Road runs 9 miles to the 11,796-foot Fall River Pass.
Trail Ridge Road
Fall River PassTrail Ridge Road traverses Fall River Pass at an elevation of 11,796 feet.
Trail Ridge Road
Alpine Ridge TrailheadThis quarter-mile walk is deceptively strenuous because of the high altitude of the trail.
Trail Ridge Road
Medicine Bow CurveThis overlook is named for the Medicine Bow Mountains, which you can see in the distance.
Trail Ridge Road
Cache la Poudre RiverThis federally designated Wild and Scenic River has its headwaters in the northern end of Rocky Mountain National Park.
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Trail Ridge Road
Continental DivideMarks the spot where North American rivers drain either west to the Pacific ocean or east to the Atlantic.
Trail Ridge Road
Lake IreneIncludes a picnic area and a one-mile loop trail to an viewpoint overlooking the small lake.
Trail Ridge Road
Farview CurveThe Colorado River flows through the Kawuneeche Valley, just five miles from its source at La Poudre Pass.
Trail Ridge Road
Colorado River Trail TrailheadA 3.7-mile hike takes you to Lulu City, a ghost town that was a mining community in the 1870s.
