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Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is accessible from the east via SR 7, US 34 and US 36 and from the west via US 34. The park includes about 265,828 acres of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. This particular section, one of the highest regions in the country, is truly representative of the grandest in American mountain scenery.
The valleys are about 8,000 feet above sea level, with the peaks rising thousands of feet higher. Longs Peak attains a height of 14,259 feet. Within the park, 60 named peaks reach elevations of 12,000 feet or higher. The range lies north and south, with the gentler slope on the west. On the east side the descent can be extremely precipitous, with sheer drops of 2,000 and 3,000 feet into rockbound gorges.
Seen from the eastern valleys, the range rises in bold relief, rugged in outline and crowned with snow. The west side, lush in its wet and dry meadowland, has many streams and natural lakes. The southwest corner adjoins the Arapaho National Recreation Area.
The records of glacial action on these mountains are so clear that even the untrained eye recognizes them. This is particularly true on the eastern side, where the moraines are enormous. Five of the park's many small alpine cirque glaciers--Tyndall, Andrews, Rowe, Taylor and Sprague--can be seen at the heads of some of the high mountain canyons at about 12,000 feet.
The park is a wildlife sanctuary. The lofty rocks are the natural home of the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Elk and deer are numerous, and coyotes are often seen by park visitors. Black bears reside in the park and are sometimes seen. Mountain lions, bobcats and smaller carnivores, however, are seldom seen by visitors. Birds also can be observed.
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