RMNP Trails

RMNP Trails Providing up to date and current trail conditions in Rocky Mountain National Park. This page is not o Please help us create content! Thanks and Happy Trails!

Post your conditions report to our page. Include the date, at least a few pics of the trail/conditions, and a description of where the snow/ice/obstacle begins/ends/etc. Either at prominent trail junctions, mileage from the trailhead, or elevation. We'll either share on our main timeline, or create a post using your info and pics!

It's not RMNP but here's a shot of the Northern Lights from Monastery of Christ in the Desert last night.
11/12/2025

It's not RMNP but here's a shot of the Northern Lights from Monastery of Christ in the Desert last night.

Getting the camera out was not on the agenda last night but while outside about 8 PM I was surprised to see the comet st...
10/21/2024

Getting the camera out was not on the agenda last night but while outside about 8 PM I was surprised to see the comet still visible in the sky. Then I saw how close it was to the Milky Way. And then I thought I probably better get the camera out. (If on a mobile device you'll probably have to click on the image/post to see the entire image.)

The Order of AspenAnything truly beautiful is well-ordered, as order properly understood is simply a synonym for Beauty....
10/18/2024

The Order of Aspen

Anything truly beautiful is well-ordered, as order properly understood is simply a synonym for Beauty. It's a meaning contained within the Greek word 'kosmos' and is of the very nature of the One who is Logos, He who is the ordering principle of all that is. 'Order' is not a cold word but a word full of life, of vibrance, of joy, hope, love. Something in the kosmos that is well-ordered is so because it is ordered toward life, toward flourishing, both its own and ours as stewards of creation. These aspen caught my attention because of their symmetry and spacing, revealing an order geared toward life and thus beautiful. But as is typically the case with beauty, it wasn't an intellectual noticing but a noticing of the heart. My heart was set ablaze by the scene and only after could I see some of the elements that perhaps made it so captivating, and even still, these communicable things represent but a small fraction of the oceans of forever unspeakable things that draw the heart in the presence of Beauty.

I should rename this page "RMNP Trails, Sometimes." Anyway, though I'm sure you've been overwhelmed with comet photos, ...
10/16/2024

I should rename this page "RMNP Trails, Sometimes." Anyway, though I'm sure you've been overwhelmed with comet photos, here's one above the church at Monastery of Christ in the Desert in northern New Mexico. By the time I got in position I had literally seconds before the core of the comet ducked behind the mesa immediately across the Chama River. By the time I tried to take a second photo the core had disappeared from view. If you've only got one shot, make it count.

The aspen are still going strong on the CO-NM border. For some reason, I love this scene of the Cumbres-Toltec railroad...
10/15/2024

The aspen are still going strong on the CO-NM border. For some reason, I love this scene of the Cumbres-Toltec railroad tracks among the golden trees.

After looking through the hundred or so photos I took of last night's aurora, I think I found the winner. It was earlie...
10/11/2024

After looking through the hundred or so photos I took of last night's aurora, I think I found the winner. It was earlier in the evening, just after the waves of light were beginning to show. The sky was suffused with color with a touch of night on the western horizon above Mt. Meeker. St. Catherine of Siena Chapel added its warm glow to the occasion and a lack of wind allowed for a perfect reflection in the small pool below to make for a pretty spectacular scene.

Another look at the aurora over St. Catherine of Siena chapel...
10/11/2024

Another look at the aurora over St. Catherine of Siena chapel...

A kind friend said she would be able to turn the lights on in St. Catherine of Siena Chapel for tonight's aurora. I'm i...
10/11/2024

A kind friend said she would be able to turn the lights on in St. Catherine of Siena Chapel for tonight's aurora. I'm incredibly grateful that she did.

Aspen WildfireThe hills are ablaze with aspen in the far southern reaches of CO right now. If wildfires were made of as...
10/08/2024

Aspen Wildfire

The hills are ablaze with aspen in the far southern reaches of CO right now. If wildfires were made of aspen, we'd see something about like this.

Right on the border between CO and NM is the entrance to Lothlorien...
10/07/2024

Right on the border between CO and NM is the entrance to Lothlorien...

The photographer's lamentis that what's seen in hours spentcontemplating the form ofstorms of beautycan never quite be s...
09/27/2024

The photographer's lament
is that what's seen in hours spent
contemplating the form of
storms of beauty
can never quite be said.
There is a dread
that pervades the soul behind the lens
that what extends beyond the frame
and within the same
will be lost
just as the shutter clicks.

A flash of brilliance at Bear Lake recently
09/25/2024

A flash of brilliance at Bear Lake recently

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