The Rocky Mountains under a couple feet of snow is a sight to behold! Whether it’s a bright blue sky or cloudy snow day, quiet canyons and gorges, towering granite peaks, and frozen alpine lakes make winter in the Rockies amazing. So, join us on our Rocky Winter Wonderland Snowshoe trip! Snowshoeing is remarkably innate- almost all hikers learn within a few minutes and are naturals by the end of Day 1. We’ll start in Estes Park with a great mountain town breakfast and head into the wilderness for 4 days of snowshoe hikes. Over meadows and frozen-solid ponds, we’ll likely see Elk, Big Horns and other nature surprises- from a safe distance of course! Did you know that Rocky Mountain snow contains less water? That is what makes Rocky powder a world class destination! We’ll end each day with a great dinner out on the town and hunter down in a local lodge.
We will start our Rockies adventure by gathering at our Estes Park hotel and double-checking guest gear, pack fit, and supplies. After a delicious local breakfast, we'll head to Sprague Lake to get set up. Your experienced Rockies guide will display proper snowshoe fit, demonstrate how to move, and make sure the group is ready. Then we are on the snow! With hot drinks, snacks, and lunch on the trail, and amazing views of Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, today is your intro to this fun way to experience the outdoors!
On the docket today is the beautiful Emerald Lake, a popular wildlife and birding area. After a great breakfast to warm us up, we'll head to the Bear Lake Trailhead in the Glacier Gorge area. After we get fitted, we'll shoe along Tyndall Creek, reaching our destination. A trail lunch with gorgeous views of the Continental Divide splits the day, and we get to hit some fresh powder as we loop back to the trailhead. After freshening up, we'll gather for a great local dinner.
After a night of rest and a great local breakfast, we're snowshoeing pros! Today we head south to the Wild Basin area for a relatively flat day of snowshoeing. Usually there are fewer visitors here, which means the likelihood of a quieter day. We'll shoe along a creek and among the pines, with our goal being Ouzel Lake. We'll lunch on the shore, and if we are lucky, we will get to shoe on fresh snow. After about 7 miles, we'll head back to town and get ready for dinner.
We end our trip getting to shoe under the towering majesty of Longs Peak. After a great breakfast before hitting the snow, our goal is Mills Lake, where we can lunch and enjoy panoramic views of both Glacier Gorge and Longs Peak. Moose and elk are abundant here — hopefully we'll get lucky and see them in their natural habitat. Chances for fresh snow are good for the return shoe, and then we wrap by heading back to Estes and saying goodbye, for now.
