Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park: A Trip Through Paradise

Story and photos by Barb Boyer Buck 

Every summer, I eagerly anticipate the reopening of Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.  It usually happens around July 4, depending on weather.  This dirt road travels one-way up to the top of the pass, emptying out at the back of the Alpine Visitor’s Center parking lot and Trail Ridge Road (that’s how you get back down).   In places, the grade is as steep at 16% and switchbacks on the road can reach as tight as 20 degrees radii.

It’s narrow and rocky, tends to become riddled with fairly deep potholes, and has very steep drop-offs (with no guardrails) on one side for most of the way.  Yet, my little 2-door, front-wheel drive car can manage it easily.  In fact, wider and heavier cars have a much more difficult time. 
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For the time being with my knees in rehab, this is my favorite way to access the sub-alpine forest, which is at its most beautiful this month and next. 

The subalpine forest is at its most colorful right now.

Every week, the sights, smells, and sounds are different, making it a shame to limit yourself to just one trip.   

The road closes when the first snows start accumulating at that elevation, usually at the beginning of October.   September is a beautiful month to drive it as well, with the aspen leaves in full color (not just gold, but often orange and red, too) and the tundra becomes a sea of rust-gold.
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Old Fall River Road travels from Endovalley (near the Alluvial Fan), where it passes through several ecosystems as you travel up.  These include the montane, subalpine, and alpine. In some spots, rich riparian areas offer a rare east-side Rocky look at the sights and sounds of this ecosystem. You move from dense forests to tundra in only 11 miles. 

This will be one of the longest 11-mile drives you will take.  But especially if you’re used to city traffic logjams, you couldn’t ask for a more pleasant delay.  There are plenty of places to stop and I recommend stopping at all of them, if you can.  ​

Chasm Falls is the first major attraction when you're traveling up Old Fall River Road.

The first major attraction is Chasm Falls.  This amazing water feature can be seen with a very short hike from the pullout, making it a rare experience for everyone.  These types of waterfalls are common in the backcountry, especially just before you approach treeline, accessed by arduous hiking in most cases.   

There is a spectacular hike (as I remember, I hiked it long ago) that can be accessed from this road at Chapin Creek Trail.  There is space for approximately 10 cars in the pullout for the trailhead, so it’s best to go up very early.   This trail is 6.6 miles to Chapin Meadows (at the base of Mount Chapin), where it splits to the Mummy Range trail.  
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Several spots to pullout include limited access (foot traffic only) to beautiful forests and the Fall River, which follows the road for most of the way up. 

Wildlife, such as this marmot, is often encountered along Old Fall River Road.

Glorious wildflowers, wildlife, lush forests and stunning views greet you the entire way. When its approximately three months of vehicle access is over, you can hike or bike this road (weather permitting). 

Of course, I love the sights and sounds I witness from my car & the short hikes I do when I stop at certain places.  But just as enthralling to me is the rich history of this road. ​

Driving up Old Fall River Road at night is not recommended, but dusk adds a little more magic to the experience.

Construction of the road began in 1913 and lasted seven years, with a brief interruption caused by World War I in 1914. When it was finally finished, it connected Estes Park to Grand Lake.  When Rocky Mountain National Park was dedicated in the Fall River Valley in 1915, attendees could observe men, using only hand tools, widening the path that Native Americans had weathered for 10s of thousands of years.

This actually caused an issue for some of the more refined and prominent representatives at the RMNP dedication.  Because at the time, Colorado State Penitentiary inmates, housed in nearby cabins, were the men building the road. (A construction company took over building the road before it was fully extended to Grand Lake.)

​Congressmen, Colorado’s governor, prominent local businessmen, and local women associations attended the dedication; seeing the convicts carving out the road was the not the proper aesthetic and the men could be dangerous, some thought.  In my opinion, seeing slave labor at work was not very palatable for the higher-ups of the time. ​

As Old Fall River Road approaches the Alpine Visitors Center, sub-alpine forest changes to tundra, on which elk are often spotted.

Another important part of the road’s history is its association to the end of Estes Park’s grand old hotels.  Before Fall River Road was opened in 1920, people who came to Estes Park had reached the end of the road, so to speak.  They couldn’t travel farther west than Rocky Mountain National Park’s east-facing mountains, unless they climbed over.

Hotels on the east side of RMNP such as Elkhorn Lodge (built in 1874), Stanley Hotel (1909), the Crags Lodge (1914), the Baldpate Inn (1917) were designed to have everything a visitor could need.  Lodging, food, entertainment, opportunities to relax, and starting points for hunting trips or wildflower gathering were provided by these lodges.  (These days hunting and gathering of anything is illegal in Rocky Mountain National Park, it’s a federal crime.)

Stunning views await you on your next drive up Old Fall River Road!

But after Fall River Road finally opened to create vehicle access from Estes Park to Grand Lake, the story changed a bit.  Eventually, Estes Park was not the place to stay for weeks or months at a time; it was a place to stop for a few days on the way to points west.  Grand Old Hotels gave way to roadside motels, especially in the 1950s and 60s when vehicle travel became America’s favorite pastime. 
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Do yourself a favor and make Old Fall River Road part of this summer's adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Be sure your vehicle does well in high altitudes, has a full tank of gas, and my advice is not to drive large vehicles up it, it’s much more difficult that way.  But above all, remember it’s only ONE WAY, going up – you will have to take Trail Ridge Road to go back down, either to Estes Park or Grand Lake. ​

Especially in the 1950s & 60s, traveling America in your vehicle was promoted. This caused Grand Old Hotels to give way to motels in Estes Park and Grand Lake.

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