Trail Ridge Road Summit — Attraction in Estes Park

Driving the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park was wonderful. Not very many places you can drive your vehicle to over 12,000 feet and visit the Alpine tundra above the treeline. This is the highest continuously paved road in America!Be sure to take the time to stop at the many beautiful scenic pull-offs and immerse yourself in this otherworldly environment. Driving above the treeline can be a bit intimidating and vertigo inducing given the lack of guardrails and steep drop-offs, but the grade is not very steep. Use your transmission to hold your downhill speed rather than riding your brakes! And run in a lower gear if necessary when climbing. Slow down as you approach the many switchbacks. Take it easy physically - you can experience altitude sickness or just light-headiness at such high altitudes. Stay hydrated. Watch out for unpredictable weather, particularly above the treeline where temperatures can drop quickly and winds and strong storms can pop up. We saw 48 degrees in mud-July during a thunderstorm with heavy sleet/hail covering the road near the summit. Watch for wildlife - there was a coyote walking on the road near the summit on our way down from the Visitor Center. Be sure to continue west past the Visitor Center into the high valley - it is beautiful and there are many opportunities to visit the Continental Decide, headwaters of the Colorado River and see the glacier covered peaks of the Never...

As beautiful as always. My first time here was in late June of 2019 and there was still snow at the top. This time, late July of 2022, there was no snow on the roadway itself. Beautifully maintained and accessible. I appreciate the reservation system which results in a less-trafficked drive through the park.

Highly recommend making the drive early on in your visit. The road/drive provides an incredible and unique look at most of the park. There's no other way to get those views without flying above it.

The stop right before the summit is absolutely worth stopping and walking at. There's a paved trail with several placards lining the walkway, highlighting details about the surroundings. The trail ends with ancient sea rock. While here, a herd of 18-19 elk crossed the path. I spotted a marmot splayed on one of the sea rocks. There's also a neat marker pointing to the various surrounding national parks with their distance...

It's absolutely beautiful. As of 7/14, there's construction on the way up (via 34) with only one lane open for about 1/4-1/2 mile. On weekends, this usually makes the trip longer due to a lot of cars in line. Still 100% worth it!! There's a gift shop (with a LOT of cool items), an information center with bathrooms, multiple viewing areas as well as several trails. In the gift shop there's also food; a couple vegetarian hot foods as well as a grab and go bakery. You can go UP a few different ways. The most popular is definitely coming from the East on 34, where people enter from Estes Park. You can also get to the summit from the other side of the park from Grand Lake, which takes a lot longer. There's also an unpaved road, Fall River Road, where traffic can ONLY head up. It's beautiful, weather permitting. I would highly recommend coming up here at least once, especially if it's a first...