How to Access Three Major Waterfalls at Rocky Mountain National Park
Located approximately 70 miles northwest of Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park offers a multitude of mountain peaks, alpine lakes, and waterfalls. Three specific falls, Fern, Alberta, and Ouzel provide easy to moderate trips allowing the visitor to experience several minor falls and cascades along the hike or even opt to trek further toward the fall’s lake source. When receiving a park map from the entrance station, the visitor will note several trail options encompassing several waterfalls to numerous to mention. In fact Trail Ridge Road, the parks only thoroughfare, crosses over the Continental Divide and south along the western ridge of the park, allowing for even more waterfall sightings, but the focus in this article will be the aforementioned three.
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Instructions
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Take the E-470 toll road from Denver International Airport and travel in a northwestward loop to Interstate 25. Proceed north toward Fort Collins and take State Highway 66 east at the 243 exit. Highway 66 becomes U.S. 36 at Lyons and U.S. 34 at Estes Park and on through Rocky Mountain.
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Access the Fern Falls via the Fern Lake Trailhead. This is the closest of the three waterfalls. Slightly west of the Beaver Meadows Entrance Station, the visitor turns south onto Bear Lake Road and then west on the Moraine Park Road. Follow the brown Fern Lake Trailhead signs and park. The trail, designated easy, follows the creek up to the falls. Furthermore, adventurers may want to travel beyond Fern Falls where the trail climbs by switchback to Marguerite Falls, noted because of its two dramatic drops.
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Access the Alberta Falls via the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Backtrack from the Fern Lake Trailhead to Bear Lake Road and make a right heading further south. Many trails in this area lead visitors up to alpine lakes, specifically Bierstadt and Sprague. The Glacier Gorge Trailhead is well marked with Alberta Falls a designated easy hike just one half mile away.
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Access the Ouzel Falls via the Wild Basin Trailhead. After Alberta Falls return north on Bear Lake Road toward the main road, Trail Ridge, and east toward the town of Estes Park, thus leaving the park altogether. State Highway 7 proceeds south from Estes for approximately 12 miles to the Copeland Lake and the Wild Basin Entrance Station. Once back in the park, Ouzel Falls is just under three miles from the trailhead and is designated a moderate hike. Along the way, the visitor will notice both Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades.
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Spend the night at thirteen area campgrounds or at many of the commercial campgrounds in the vicinity, but please make reservations. Estes Park, Boulder and Denver have a wide array of dining and lodging facilities.
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