Searching for Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

On Sat Stacie and I met Jenny and Wes up in Estes Park.  Jenny wanted to see some elk, so we drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park to find some.  On the way in Stacie and I bought a “National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass” – it gives us access to any federally operated recreation site across the country for one year.  That’s all of the national parks, federal recreation lands, open space, etc.

We entered the park through the Beaver Meadow entrance and headed straight to Moraine Park (left onto Bear Lake road, right onto Campground Rd, left on Fern Lake Rd).  Since Stacie used to work in and around RMNP and Estes Park she knew exactly where to take us.

Shortly after we entered the moraine we saw our first group of elk off close by on the right side of the road, and another in the distance on the left.

The scenery in the moraine is fantastic; you are in a large, level area surrounded by mountain peaks.

We drove down to the end of Fern Lake Rd to the Fern Lake trailhead.  Read about our hike here.  Once we were finished hiking, we drive back and saw even more elk than on the way down.  They were right up next to the road in several spots.

On the way out of the park, we drove around a little bit more to see if we could find some more elk or even bighorn sheep.  We did find another huge herd of elk in Horseshoe Park and sat for a while as they crossed the road.

We had a great time hanging out with Jenny and Wes.  Plus, the weather was perfect and the scenery was incredible; we can’t wait to go back to RMNP!

See all of the pictures here: Photo Album