Five Reason I Love Rocky Mountain National Park

This image I made near Lake Haiyaha illustrates a few of the many reasons I love photographing Rocky Mountain National Park. Fresh snow covers Hallett Peak and this small outlet just south of Lake Haiyaha has partially frozen over. It's only October 1st but snow and ice are already part of the landscape while fall colors peak in the lower elevations of Rocky. A small break in the clouds to the east allowed for this intense sunrise to illuminate and color the clouds and peaks over Rocky Mountain National Park this morning. Technical Details: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm F4 IS L
This image I made near Lake Haiyaha illustrates a few of the many reasons I love photographing Rocky Mountain National Park. Fresh snow covers Hallett Peak and this small outlet just south of Lake Haiyaha has partially frozen over. It’s only October 1st but snow and ice are already part of the landscape while fall colors peak in the lower elevations of Rocky. A small break in the clouds to the east allowed for this intense sunrise to illuminate and color the clouds and peaks over Rocky Mountain National Park this morning. Technical Details: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm F4 IS L

With the fall color season nearly over and Rocky Mountain National Park transitioning over towards the winter season, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on a few of the reasons Rocky Mountain National Park is my favorite National Park to visit and more importantly to me photograph. A lot of people ask me why I spend so much time in one area when I have all of Colorado and the west to explore as well. Frankly I love photographing Colorado and the western United States, but if I had to chose between those and Rocky Mountain National Park, I’d still choose Rocky any day. One could easily spend a lifetime photographing Rocky Mountain National Park and not even scratch the surface when it comes to all the possibilities Rocky has in store when it comes to photography. Here are five reason I personally love Rocky Mountain National Park.

1. I love Rocky’s diversity. Sure Rocky Mountain National Park is only 415 square miles in total size. While that’s certainly nothing to sneeze at size wise, Yellowstone National Park is just under 3500 square miles and The Grand Canyon National Park is just over 1900 square miles. While these two other iconic National Parks of the west have Rocky Mountain National Park beat in size Rocky has some notable icons of its own. Rocky plays host to the headwaters of the Colorado River. Tucked behind Specimen Mountain near Little Yellowstone Canyon the Colorado River begins its longs journey southward towards the Pacific Ocean. The Colorado River is the engine that helped to form what we now know as the Grand Canyon. John Wesley Powell the first American explorer to discover and navigate the Grand Canyon is also credited with the first summit of Longs Peak the year before his famous travels down the Colorado River. Rocky Mountain National Park is also home to Longs Peak which at 14,259 ft above sea level is Rocky’s highest summit. Yellowstone’s highest peak, Eagle Peak reaches to 11,372 ft above sea level. 2887 ft below the summit of Longs Peak and 811 ft lower than the highest point on Rocky’s infamous Trail Ridge Road which tops off at 12,183 ft above sea level. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploring Rocky. Spending time above tree line in Rocky Mountain National Park will yield a completely different experience then spending time at the lower elevations beautiful meadows and parks.

2. Rocky has two very distinctive sides to the park. The continental divide splits Rocky Mountain National Park into an east side and a west side. Trail Ridge Road which is only open from Memorial Day until mid October is the means for which 99% of all visitors to Rocky will travel and experience each side of the park. The east side of Rocky Mountain National Park plays host to some moderate and short hikes that allow visitors to visit beautiful alpine lakes such as the iconic Dream Lake. The east side is also home to Longs Peak, the highest peak in the park and the challenging eight mile hike to it’s summit has become a goal of many of the park’s visitors. The west side of the Rocky Mountain National Park while just as beautiful as the east side is more mysterious. It’s alpine lakes and peaks are just as majestic as the east side but require long strenuous hikes to visit. Your just as likely to encounter a Moose in the back country of Rocky west side as you are other hikers.

3. Rocky has some of the most beautiful sunrises and early morning lighting anywhere. The geographic location of Rocky Mountain National Park allows it to garner some of the most beautiful light at sunrise. Situated above and just west of the Colorado high plains, Rocky Mountain National Park high peaks have a completely unobstructed view to the rising sun over the flat Colorado high plains. First morning light in Rocky Mountain National Park comes early and is intense. The peaks and summits will glow a fiery red and if one’s lucky enough to have clouds in the sky at sunrise they will begin to change color and hue 30 to 45 minutes before the sun actually rises. The light show in Rocky Mountain National Park on a partly cloudy morning is simply breathtaking to take in and photograph.

With only the high plains of Colorado between Rocky and the high peaks, brillant and colorful sunrises like this one over Lake Helene are magical. Technical Details: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm F4 IS L
With only the high plains of Colorado between Rocky and the high peaks, brillant and colorful sunrises like this one over Lake Helene are magical. Technical Details: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm F4 IS L

4. I’m a student of history and Rocky Mountain National Park is chock full of interesting events and people. From the early Ute and Arapahoe tribes that spent time in what is now Rocky Mountain National Park to characters that seem to read from a movie script such as The Earl of Dunraven, Rocky Mountain Jim Nugent, John Wesley Powell, William Byers, Abner Sprague,Squeaky Bob, and Enos Mills the park has been visited and explored by some of the hardiest, most interesting and in the case of the Irish Earl, self interested people to visit Colorado and the west. While many of the people listed above helped paved the way towards making the area a destination, none played a more integral part in having the foresight to protect and conserve the area than Enos Mills. Enos Mills is considered the father of Rocky Mountain National Park. His conservation efforts, explorations and writings on the area acted both as a treasure trove of information, but also helped in getting congress to set aside this land for protection in 1915. While Enos was a great outdoorsman and spent countless days wandering the forests that now makeup Rocky Mountain National Park, it was a chance encounter with John Muir, the father of the Sierra Club movement that spurred Enos to champion conservation of what is now Rocky Mountain National Park. There is a clear and distinct line between Rocky Mountain National Park founding and John Muir, the person considered the father of the American conservation movement. For that we have Enos Mills to thank.

5. Last and not least one of my personal favorite things about Rocky Mountain National Park is sharing and experiencing the beauty of the park with friends, family and visitors from all over the country and the world. Rocky Mountain National Park was the first National Park I ever visited when I moved to Colorado in 1998. It had an immediate and indelible effect on me the minute I drove through the entrance. I had spent time all over Colorado prior to visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and had figured the whole state of Colorado is practically a National Park, why do I need to go fight the crowds and cars?. Rocky’s unique and it only took one visit over sixteen years ago in which I had to be egged on by a friend for me to figure that out and fall in love with Rocky. Watch for the change in visitors when you bring them to Rocky to show them around. See how friendly and happy people become as they hike farther from the trailhead and into the backcountry. Once away from their vehicle and the influence of man one can easily see the effect wilderness and wild places have on people. Did you ever notice how almost everybody makes eye contact, says hello and smiles when they are four or five miles from their car?. You can almost gauge how close you are to the trailhead based on how friendly, outgoing and engaging people are on the trail. That’s a powerful effect and one that was not lost those that had the foresight to protect and preserve what I now consider my favorite place on the planet, Rocky Mountain National Park.