Trail Ridge Road Scenic Drive

Trail Ridge Road Scenic Drive

View from Trail Ridge Road

Trail Ridge Road is the name for a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 that traverses Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park, Colorado in the east to Grand Lake, Colorado in the west.

Looking East toward Estes Park

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet.

There are no shoulders and few guardrails.

Forest Canyon Overlook

This short trail crosses the tundra -- a Russian word for "land of no trees." Here, above the treeline, winds often exceed 100 miles per hour and temperatures remain below freezing for at least five months each year. Because of these harsh conditions and short growing season, tundra plant communities require centuries to mature.

This is the start of the Alpine Ridge Trail

View from Alpine Ridge Trail. It actually sleeted while we were here

View from Alpine Ridge Trail

I made it to the 12,005 foot elevation sign post on the Alpine Ridge Trail

Descending from the trail to the Alpine Visitor Center where Martha shopped while I was walking the trail.

This area is called Fall River Pass

This was taken behind the Alpine Visitor Center.

Fall River Pass from the Alpine Ridge Trail

Fall River Pass

Trail Ridge Road has more than eight miles above 11,000 feet. No shoulders or guardrails in most places.

Martha explains the Continental Divide