Quick Family Getaways: Rocky Mountain National Park less than a half-day’s drive from Denver

March 18, 2:50 PMDenver Family Travel ExaminerCarolyn Sutton

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Rocky Mountain National Park offers families great hiking trails and spectacular scenery.

The Drive from Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park takes only a little over 2 hours, yet it leads you into another world.

Sitting astride the Continental Divide, Rocky Mountain National Park lies about 30 miles south of the Wyoming boarder, half-way between Colorado's eastern and western state lines. A string of 12,000 and 13,000-foot peaks runs down the middle of the park, rising up to Longs Peak, at 14,259 feet above sea level. Longs Peak is featured on the Colorado quarter, but it is only a tiny part of the spectacular scenery that makes Rocky Mountain National Park Special.

The best attractions for families in Rocky Mountain National Park include the Fall River Visitor Center - be sure to take the kids to check out the Discovery Center in the lower level. Families will also enjoy walking around Sprague Lake. It is wheelchair (and therefore stroller) accessible. With its clear waters, abundant fish, self-guided nature trail, livery stables for horseback riding, and amazing views, this is a perfect spot for families with young children.

Our family also spent hours on the western side of the park enjoying the informative displays at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. In summertime, the Holzwarth Historic Site is a worthwhile history tour for the kids.

But, above all else, Rocky Mountain National Park is a place for families to go hiking and to sleep under the stars. Our favorite paths? With 360 miles of hiking trails winding through the park, how can we choose? We love the Wild Basin complex on the southeast side of the park. It is full of wonderful gushing, splashing, cascading streams and a great waterfall or two. But then again, the Glacier Basin area, on the road to Bear Lake, has its share of pretty, splashy streams, plus those really cool jagged, rocky, tower-spire-things.

For camping, nothing beats the views of the Glacier Basin campground, unless it's the Moraine Park campground. And you can reserve ahead at those two campgrounds, but none of the others. On the other hand, the Timber Creek campground in the Kawuneeche Valley is really nicely forested, and you have a great chance of seeing tons of wild animals (deer, moose, chipmunks) there.

Between the ranger talks and  the museums,  the s’mores and the campfire programs, the hiking and and the knock-your-socks-off pretty viewpoints, Rocky Mountain National Park provides parents and kids with the opportunity to experience the Colorado mountains like nowhere else.

Whether your regular life is a half-day away in Denver or half-way around the world, Rocky Mountain National Park is an escape for the whole family.

For more information:

National Park Service website

Colorado Family Travel Information