Outpost

Backpacking

Rocky Mountain National Park

There are so many possible backpacking trips in RMNP it's hard to know where to start. But we'll start with the most famous trip of all : The Continental Divide Loop. This is a circle that begins and ends in Grand Lake, and includes every type of scenery the park has to offer. If you are only going to do one trip here, assuming you're esxperienced and well equipped, this is the one.

If you're a beginning backpacker, we would recommend the East Inlet or Lakeshore Trails out of Grand Lake. Lakeshore has zero elevation gain, and East Inlet has only a small amount. Both are very scenic and both offer good fishing and campsites. Both are basic out and backs, although advanced backpackers with routefinding skills can climb over the top and make loop trails out of them.

Wild Basin is the next level of difficulty.You hike up a drainage, camp by a lake, hike partly back down, take the other fork, and hike up another drainage to camp by another lake. Scenery is spectacular on this three dayer. It's out of Allens Park.

The Never Summer Wilderness is a slightly more difficult three day loop (more like a square). It's out of Grand Lake.

Indian Peaks is a much larger, more rugged Wilderness out of Allens Park. Many backpackers consider it the most spectacular, most remote and most challenging part of the park. We offer an introductory three day trip.

The Big Thompson Loop and Mummy Pass routes require half a day of route finding as you navigate from one trail to another over a high divide. Anyone skilled with a topo map and compass can handle this easily. You're basically crossing broad grassy saddles. The Mummy Pass trip begins on the western side of Trail Ridge Road and ends at Estes Park. The Big Thompson loop begins and ends at Estes Park.

All of these require permits and to guarantee you get them you should file for them two months ahead.

You can hike Lakeshore and East Inlet in early June. Wild Basin is usually open by late June. The others are only available in July and August and the first half of September.