Mt Ida — Local services in Estes Park

This hike has beautiful 360 degrees views for miles! It’s breathtaking, quite literally, because you start at high elevation and have to climb even higher. Make sure you are used to the altitude before doing this one. We arrived at the parking lot around 8AM and there were plenty of spots. The path was easy to follow for the most part and I recommend using Alltrails to navigate. There’s a couple of rock scrambles but you can still find your way to the top pretty easily. As mentioned by others, it is a very exposed and windy hike. I wore three warm layers and mittens and was very happy I had them. The wind also picks up towards the afternoon, so I recommend starting in the early morning. It took us about 6 hours to complete this hike,...

Mount Ida was one of my favorite hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. Starting at Milner Pass west of Alpine Visitor Center on Trail Ridge Road, the round trip hike is about 9 miles, gaining about 2500 feet in altitude. In about a mile, the trail gets above the tree line and there are fantastic views the entire way. We saw lots of wildlife on this hike, including pikas, marmots, and ptarmigams. The trail kind of disappears through a boulder field in the last mile, but still pretty easy to follow - just keep going up. The views from the top are worth the challenging hike. Since most of the hike is exposed, start early to avoid afternoon thunderstorms and don't attempt the hike if there's a chance...

It's definitely a hike!!!! All trails did a great job having the path mapped out as usual. The first part has a bit of forrest for wind break, but once you get up to the tundra, you're completely exposed. Views are spectacular, and as always, the sense of accomplishment after finishing the hike is amazing! 10 out of 10 recommend. Just be sure to keep an eye out for a clear day, and try to keep an eye out for the wind, felt like we were gonna get...