In Colorado, the Rocky Mountain National Park is a hiker’s paradise with over 50-day hikes and many opportunities for multiple-day backpacking trips. Wonderful for the able-bodied visitor but challenging for those who use a wheelchair or scooter to get around. All is not lost though! In the Rocky Mountain National Park, there are accessible trails and outdoor attractions to enjoy nature.
There are a few short trails that the park has designated as accessible to some degree. We visited all of them plus a few other ones that are not marked as accessible but can be visited with help.
Even if you choose to not roll along any of the trails the views along the park road are worth the trip. The road climbs almost 4,000′, crosses the Continental Divide, and travels through three ecosystems. It’s gorgeous! Forests, meadows, wildflowers, and alpine vistas can be seen from the road along with moose, elk, and other animals. From end to end the road is about 20 miles long so even with stops it’s an easy drive.
If you wish to get a more rustic and less crowded driving experience try the one-way, gravel Old Fall River Road. This is the original park road built in 1920 and can be driven by any vehicle except for large RVs and trailers.
We stayed at two of the campgrounds, Timber Creek and Moraine Park. Of the two Timber Creek is the best for accessibility with large parking pads, level sites, picnic tables with long overhangs, fire pits with high sides, and gravel paths to the restrooms.
If you’re not camping the place to stay is Estes Park, just outside the eastern entrance to the park.
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I am a 10 year disabled resident of Estes Park and live just outside of the Beaver Meadows entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. This review of RMNP is well written and accurate. In fact, I have enjoyed camping at the Sprague Lake campsite on numerous occasions. However, I do want to state that you can access other trails (not accessible with a standard wheelchair) with an off-road hand cycle. Please contact me at flydaniel@aol.com for more information.