On The Road to Bear Lake, Rocky Mt. National Park
/Never underestimate the healing effects of water or mountains. Being a lifelong Chicagoan, I’ve always been drawn to Lake Michigan. When I travel, I look for destinations with water, or mountains, since we don’t see anything vaguely resembling that in most Illinois topography. How lucky for me that our adventure today brought me to both!
On our second day at Rocky Mt. National Park we decided to visit Bear Lake. Our timed entry wasn’t until 1:00, so we checked out an incredible water feature not too far from the entrance. Alluvial Fan is a magnificent cascade of water flowing down a boulder field.
The formation was created back in 1892 when, according to the Nation Park Service, “a breach in the earthen dam at Lawn Lake brought down a devastating wall of water, sweeping vegetation and debris that would eventually form the Alluvial Fan as we see it today.” The trail was reconstructed in 2020, designed to be fully accessible.
Still too early for our reservation at Bear Lake, we decided to have our picnic lunch at nearby Beaver Meadows.
This lovely meadow was filled with bright yellow wildflowers, singing birds and trails heading toward the ponderosa pines. An incredible spot to breath fresh air, take in nature’s handiwork, and totally decompress.
Now it was time to explore Bear Lake - a very popular destination in the park, due to its many scenic trails, ranging from easy strolls to strenuous hikes. I found out the hard way!
**Side note - according to UncoverColorado.com, “Around the time Bear Lake was officially named in 1912, both grizzly and black bears lived in the Rocky Mountains. Whereas grizzlies have now been extinct in the area for a century, about 30 black bears still live in Rock Mountain National Park.”
As much as I wanted to continue, I needed a break! We still have two more days to explore the area before heading to our next destination!