Grand County Opens Door to Popular Park’s “Quiet Side”
Rocky Mountain National Park, in northern Colorado, is one of the top 10 most visited national parks in the United States, with nearly 2.8 million visitors each year. Want to enjoy this natural wonderland without the hassle? Visit the Park’s “quiet side.” The western side of the Park – accessed via the Kawuneeche Visitor Center – sees only a third of the traffic of the more popular eastern side.
What to Do
On the quiet side, you’ll find sweeping vistas, rugged terrain, peaceful meadows, plentiful wildlife – and no crowds.
Kawuneeche Visitor Center
Historic Holzwarth Never Summer Ranch and Trout Lodge
Adams Falls – short hike from the parking lot at the East Inlet Trailhead, just east of Grand Lake
Longer hikes – Other local trailheads serve as starting points to hikes to Lone Pine Lake, Granite Falls, and the remains of the former mining camp, Lulu City
Accessibility
Many of the facilities and draws on the quiet side are wheelchair-accessible.
Kawuneeche Visitor Center
Never Summer Ranch
Restrooms – Beaver Ponds Picnic Area; Green Mountain, Coyote Valley, Timber Lake and Colorado River trailheads
Bowen/Baker Trailhead – Six accessible picnic tables and firepits, and restrooms
Baker Gulch one-mile interpretive trail – Not wheelchair-accessible, but offers an easy walk through one of Colorado’s oldest spruce-fir old-growth forests.
Grand Lake
The Village of Grand Lake, at the western gate to Rocky Mountain National Park, is a charming lakeside town with a beach, marina, hotels, shops, and restaurants.
Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater – Nightly performances during the summer and fall
Arts-and-crafts fairs and musical performances – In the town park all summer long
Bingo – In the Pavilion every Friday and Saturday night during the summer
Kauffman House Museum
Ice fish and snowmobile – Colorado’s snowmobiling capital in winter
How to get there
Year-round, Rocky Mountain National Park’s “quiet side” can be reached from Denver via I-70 and U.S. Highway 40. Trail Ridge Road (U.S. Highway 34) travels through the Park from the town of Estes Park and is open during the late spring through late fall.
The Kawuneeche Visitor Center is open year-round. Snowshoe and Nordic trails on the Park’s western side are accessible in winter, but automobile access further into the park from the visitor center is weather-dependent
For additional information on Grand County, and an online trip planner, contact the Grand County Tourism Board at www.grand-county.com or 800-729-5821.
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