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Rocky Mountain National Park features majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments—from wooded forests to mountain tundra—and easy access to back-country trails and campsites. The park is located north-west of Boulder, Colorado in the Colorado Rockies, and includes the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Colorado River in its land area. The park has five visitor centers. The park headquarters, Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, is a National Historic Landmark, designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West. The park is accessed by three roads, U.S. Highway 34 and 36, and Colorado State Highway 7. State Highway 7 enters the park for less than a mile, where it provides access to the Lily Lake Visitor Center. Highway 36 enters the park on the east side, where it terminates after a few miles at Highway 34. Highway 34, known as Trail Ridge Road through the park, runs from the town of Estes Park, Colorado on the east to Grand Lake, Colorado on the south west. The road reaches 12,183 feet (3,183 meters) in elevation, and is closed in the winter due to snow. The park is surrounded by Roosevelt National Forest on the north and east, Routt National Forest on the northwest, and Arapaho National Forest on the southwest. GeographyRocky Mountain National Park encompasses approximately 265,770 acres of land in Colorado's northern Front Range. The park is split by the Continental Divide, which gives the eastern and western portions of the park a different character. The east side of the park tends to be dryer, with heavily glaciated peaks and cirques. The west side of the park is wetter and more lush, with deep forests dominating. The park contains 359 miles of trails, 150 lakes, and 450 miles of streams. The park contains over 60 named peaks higher than 12,000 feet, and over one fourth of the park resides above treeline. The highest point of the park is Longs Peak, which rises to 14,259 feet (surveys before 2002 show 14,255 feet ) above sea level. Longs Peak is the only fourteen thousand foot peak in the park.
EcosystemsThe lowest elevations in the park are montane forests and grassland. The ponderosa pine, which prefers drier areas, dominates, though at higher elevations douglas fir trees are found. Above 9,000 feet the montane forests give way to the subalpine forest. Engelmann Spruce and subalpine Fir trees are common in this zone. These forests tend to have more moisture than the montane and tend to be denser. Above treeline, at approximately 11,500 feet, trees disappear and the vast alpine tundra takes over. Due to harsh winds and weather, the plants in the tundra are short with very limited growing seasons. Streams have created lush riparian wetlands across the park. • [List your site here Free!]
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