Rocky Mountain National Park, Alberta Falls and Bear Lake

On Monday of our epic National Parks adventure, we headed out to hike the Alberta Falls trail in the morning. The weather was gorgeous and cool but not frigid. The trail is 1.7 miles round trip but gains 200 feet in elevation, ending at 9400 feet with stunning views of the falls.

One thing we didn't really anticipate was all the snow and ice we had to hike through and over!

Naturally, a few snowball fights broke out...

...and some attempts at sledding.

Wildlife spotted on the trail

 Views of Glacier Gorge were rewarding!

Audrey takes a quick break

After hiking the falls, we caught a shuttle up to Bear Lake to see it. Unfortunately, it started sleeting and snowing as soon as we got there, so we got a glimpse of the half-frozen lake before taking cover in the line for the shuttle bus and heading back to lower elevation.

Later, we checked out the visitor center where the kids earned their FIRST junior ranger badges!

They each received specific booklets for their ages that taught them about the ecosystem, wildlife, geology, and history of Rocky Mountain National Park. They had to complete a certain portion to earn a badge, then go over their answers with a ranger and take an oath.

Later, I wanted to drive up as far as we could on Trail Ridge Road, which was still closed because of snow at Rainbow Curve. Still, that point on the famous road was the highest elevation we had experienced at 10,875 ft. Drew, Jamie, Noah and Audrey opted out so Chris took the wheel of the mini cooper and my parents and I loaded in for the scenic drive. Chris struggled a bit with the heights and the steep drop-offs, but I thought it was well worth it!

Elk spotted along the road:

At the top, we also saw a stellar jay:

Impressive views of the valley!

The white horizontal line is the trail ridge road we drove to arrive here!

More views driving back down Trail Ridge Rd.:

We made one more stop when we spotted bull elk not far off the road!

Wish we had more time in RMNP, but the next day we were heading out to Grand Teton National Park!