Someone once asked me what’s my favorite trail in all the world. I had to stop and think about it for a moment since there are good ones all over. But this one, I think, takes the cake. It’s the Ute Trail from the back side of Trail Ridge Road at Milner Pass on the Continental Divide, up to the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s 9 miles round trip with roughly 1000′ elevation gain/loss. Start from Milner Pass and it’s 4.5 miles uphill. Start from the Alpine Visitor Center and it’s 4.5 miles downhill. Depending on how ambitious you are, you can do the round trip in under 5 hours. Or, arrange a shuttle for either of the one-ways and be done in about 2 hours. But no matter which way you choose, the sights are pretty much unmatched anywhere.
A detailed blow-by-blow for this hike can be found here.
Pix from yesterday are below.
Like I said, this is my favorite trail, so if you see this guy, make sure to stop and say ‘hi.’