Warmer temperatures during the summer months drive native elk herds toward higher elevations. A small group of visitors observe this bull elk near the Alpine Visitor Center trailhead. Elevation: 11,796 feet.
Park volunteer Dennis Lee smiles for a portrait in front of the ranger station at Bear Lake trailhead. Volunteers play a significant role in the maintenance and operation of the park. Annually, the park has approximately 2,000 volunteers working in more than 100 different job descriptions, giving it the largest volunteer program in the National Park Service.
On a typical summer day, strong thunderstorms pass through the park in the afternoon. This visitor finds a moment of solitude beneath a turbulent sky, standing atop a rock formation near the Alpine Visitor Center. Lightning strikes are a major safety concern for visitors and staff in these areas above the tree line.
Hundreds of aspen trees in a grove near the Alberta Falls Trail have been scarred with graffiti by visitors through the years.
Tree roots grow from a rock formation near Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The park's ecosystems are sometimes fragile and sensitive to human presence. However, several species of wildlife and vegetation have adapted to survive some of the harshest environmental and climate conditions.
Reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet, Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. Efforts to repave and repair parts of the road have slowed heavy traffic during months of peak visitation to Rocky Mountain National Park.
A toddler enjoys the view from an overlook at the Alpine Visitors Center. Visual records of early artists helped to stimulate the establishment of many of our national parks. These artists translate the national park's purpose, as a place of pleasure and preservation, into images which bring others enjoyment and a deeper understanding of the parks many Americans may never visit.
A large group of park visitors makes their way toward the Glacier Gorge overlook. Rocky Mountain National Park receives more than 3.5 million visitors annually. Heavy foot traffic is a concern in fragile areas of the park.
Park ranger/interpreter Sue Langdon leads a group of visitors on an informational hike through the high country. Approximately one-third of this national park is above the limit where trees may grow in northern Colorado. Repeated footsteps often destroy tundra plants, leaving exposed soil to blow away, and recovery may take hundreds of years.
Gavin Browning enjoys exciting opportunities to interact with wildlife in the park. Many families return year after year, generation after generation, to see the natural wonders of the park.
The mountain pine beetle has caused major damage to pine forests throughout the Rockies. The increased beetle population can be attributed in part to the reduction in the severity of winters. Some fear that global warming will cause the problem to intensify.
Summer rain and sunlight create a spectacular display and illuminate mountain peaks over Morraine Park.
The trailhead at Milner Pass provides hikers with several options for treks along the continental divide.
A pair of hikers wade accross the Big Thompson River, which meanders through Moraine Park in the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park. Headwaters of the Big Thompson originate on the eastern slope of Longs Peak.
Clint Murrow of Laredo, Colo., sits for a portrait. Rocky Mountain National Park attracts a diverse cross-section of people from all different races, religions, nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
An elderly couple from Nebraska, both 80 years old, enjoy a hike to Dream Lake. They have been visiting Rocky Mountain National Park every year for the past two decades. The trek to Dream Lake includes more than two miles (round-trip) of steep and winding trails.
Top ads RSS
- LPN Baldwin Healthcare is currently accepting applications for a full ...
- Family Services Specialist Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority Full-time grant funded ...
- Traffic Safety Specialist 2 Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office Topeka ...
- Utilization Review Specialist Elizabeth Layton Center has part-time opening for ...
- Auto Service Tech needed with own tools & experience. Jay, ...
Marketplace
Arts & Entertainment · Bars · Theatres · Restaurants · Coffeehouses · Libraries · Antiques · Services
- Mormons throw support behind gay-rights cause November 12, 2009 · 50 comments
- Attorney for man who says he shot George Tiller won't present 'necessity' defense November 10, 2009 · 85 comments
- Pressing need November 11, 2009 · 29 comments
- Topeka area woman dies from swine flu; death toll from virus at 18 in Kansas November 12, 2009 · 2 comments
- Great American Smokeout is Nov. 19; story wins award November 12, 2009 · 8 comments
- Blog: We're Up And Running... If Only We Could Come Up With A Good Name November 12, 2009 · 13 comments
- Muslims troops deserve support November 12, 2009 · 69 comments
- Blog: What's Your Stripper Name? November 12, 2009 · 49 comments
- Lou Dobbs resigns from CNN November 12, 2009 · 30 comments
- Independent counsel behind Bill Clinton investigation will speak at KU November 11, 2009 · 40 comments
- Q&A with Kansas health officer about H1N1 November 12, 2009
- Fair Trade Holiday Market opens Nov. 27 in Lawrence November 12, 2009
- Report looks at county’s learning programs November 12, 2009
- Kansas conservation activist Jan Garton dies at 59 November 11, 2009
- Douglas County ceremony honors America's veterans November 11, 2009
- Topeka area woman dies from swine flu; death toll from virus at 18 in Kansas November 12, 2009
- KU receives $6 million contract for vaccine research November 12, 2009
- Mormons throw support behind gay-rights cause November 12, 2009
- Report: Nearly 6 million children die from hunger November 23, 2005
- Kansas women sign four November 12, 2009







