Lava Cliffs Overlook — Attraction in Four Corners States

A fun road to take on… mountain driving twists and turns, well paced, they are constantly upgrading it - there was one spot of one way traffic due to road fixing, but what makes this road awesome is the different types of habitats, from forest to alpine lakes to tundra… and the change from one side of the mountain to the other! We went (in September) from a sunny balmy 67F on the Great Lake side, to above timber line windy and cold 37F sunny… to total white out cloud cover (as we went down the mountain on the Estes Park side) to foggy “magical”! There were portions where we were just following the line on the road! Overall a fantastic drive...

After another few miles of driving, and passing through some truly otherworldly scenery, The mountains take on a dramatic new look as we approach Lava Cliffs. It was really windy and chilly up here but a gorgeous spot to stop. you’ll get a view of this large wall of solidified volcanic ash, left here around 25 million years ago from a nearby volcanic eruption.

This is also near the highest point of Trail Ridge Road, with the summit just a few hundred yards from the Lava...

This view point is just before the alpine visitor centre overlooking a receding glacier next to a volcanic rock and you can have nice looks at the valley below (when you can!) or enjoy or get scared of the file mountain weather. We experienced, rain, snow, sleet and hail all in one day and in span of a few hours on this drive of the Trail ridge rd and thats apparently not unusual for the...