Caching Near Rocky Mountain National Park

[+countrycachers]

I have two seperate week-long trips to the RMNP area this summer. One I'll be staying on the SE side near Grand Lake, the second on the NE side in Estes Park. I am from Iowa, and caches are usually within 1 mile of a parking lot. I would love for my wife and I to have a few 10-15 mile day hikes when we are out there. What trails do you know of near this area with some good cache opportunities? Thanks for your input!

[+Let's Look Over Thayer]

I have two seperate week-long trips to the RMNP area this summer. One I'll be staying on the SE side near Grand Lake, the second on the NE side in Estes Park. I am from Iowa, and caches are usually within 1 mile of a parking lot. I would love for my wife and I to have a few 10-15 mile day hikes when we are out there. What trails do you know of near this area with some good cache opportunities? Thanks for your input!

This time of year, the west side is pretty much buried in snow. The caching can be pretty challenging as a result. Hiking can also be pretty difficult as you will be postholing up to your hips.

 

But it's not all bad -- there's some fantastic cross-country ski trails there. One of my favorites is to go up the valley of the Colorado River (same one that cut the Grand Canyon) though it's not much more than a creek at this point. If XC-skiing is not your thing, plan on renting snowshoes. You will not regret it. There's a locally published book on Grand County ski trails that's well worth the investment if you plan to do any skiing or snowshoeing.

 

You'll probably have better luck caching on the east side.

 

Trivia time: Did you know that the Colorado River used to be named the Grand River? That's where all these Grand names (Grand County, Grand Lake, Grand Junction, Grand Canyon, etc.) come from.

[+Let's Look Over Thayer]

Ooops! Missed the part where it said "this summer". Ignore my response then. In summer, the hiking is fantastic. Buy the locally published book by the same author on Grand County hiking trails. You'll have a blast.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Find me and I'll give you a grand cache tour. Look at my profile and there are some other ones out here that are not mine but do require some kind of a challenge.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Ooops! Missed the part where it said "this summer". Ignore my response then. In summer, the hiking is fantastic. Buy the locally published book by the same author on Grand County hiking trails. You'll have a blast.

That's ok, there's plenty of snow to go around in the summer to