Erik Stensland - The Photographers Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park

INTRODUCTION

A re you planning a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and wanting to know where to photograph? Then this is the guide for you. It includes many of the most accessible photo locations in the park and some more distant locations, as well as advice on when, where, and how to capture these photogenic places.

Since 2005 Ive lived in Estes Park and made my living as a landscape photographer. With Rocky Mountain National Park just outside my door, the park has been my primary area of focus. During these years, I have explored and photographed nearly every area of the RMNP and become attuned to its cycles and moods. In these pages, Ill share from that experience to help you get the best photos possible during your visit.

This book is divided into six major areas, each covered by a different color-coded chapter. Four of the six areas are located around major roadways in or next to the national park, as this makes the most sense from a navigation standpoint. The other two are the areas directly around the towns of Grand Lake and Estes Park.

While this photography guide will give you all the basics you need to know, if you plan to do any of the hikes listed in this book or want more ideas, I suggest getting a copy of my book Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park: The Essential Guide . This 500-page guide will give you all the details for each hike, such as how to get to each trailhead, the elevation gain, estimated hiking time, particular things to look for along the way, and lots of photos to give you additional ideas. It also covers many areas of the park that are not covered by this photo guide.

With nearly 150 mountain lakes, over 400 miles of rivers and streams, and 60 peaks over 12,000 feet, there is more to photograph in RMNP than I could possibly fit into one short book. In fact, even in the areas Ive covered, there are many other compositions and areas of photographic interest that I simply couldnt include without making this book extremely large. My encouragement to you is to take what Ive written and use it as a starting point. Look around you and youll find many additional vantage points and opportunities. Allow your own creativity to guide you. You may also find that you get more satisfaction in creating your own photos rather than simply copying the ones in this book.

For further ideas and inspiration, visit my gallery in downtown Estes Park or my website (www.ImagesofRMNP.com).

Wishing you a very refreshing and successful visit to Rocky Mountain National Park!

Erik Stensland

USING THIS BOOK

T his book is designed to make it as simple as possible for you to find your way around. Ive color-coded each major location. This color scheme can be seen in the table of contents, in the sections themselves, and in each of the listed waypoints on the maps.

The maps in this book have been custom-made to clearly show you how to get to each of the locations listed. They are topographical maps, meaning they accurately show the contours of the terrain. Between each of the dark lines is 200 (feet) of elevation gain and 50 between each of the light contour lines. If you are not familiar with topographical maps, visit www.HikingRocky.com/topo for a great explanation video. Once you understand topographical maps, you will be able to visualize the landscape before you go.

The maps I use clearly show the forested areas in green and the alpine areas in gray. They also show other trails that you might pass and identify major landmarks in the area, such as the names of lakes, mountains, streams, and glaciers.

Please note that these maps only show a very narrow area and would be of little help if you ended up outside the covered area. I therefore highly recommend that you buy a detailed topographical map of Rocky Mountain National Park and keep it in your hiking pack along with a manual compass. National Geographic makes an excellent topographical map and I always keep one in my backpack.

At the back of the book youll find additional resources that I think will help you to be more successful, such as a list of some of the top locations, a chart of sunrise and sunset times, helpful apps and websites, etc. Youll also find that Ive included a number of links to articles and videos throughout this book that will give you more information about a particular subject.

VISITING RMNP

R ocky Mountain National Park is in north central Colorado about 75 miles northwest of Denver International Airport. Because it is quite close to Denver and accessible to the large population that lives along Colorados Front Range, it is the third most visited national park in the nation, with close to five million visitors a year.

Established in 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park became the United States eleventh national park. It covers a 415-square-mile section of the lower Rocky Mountains. It was set aside for its natural beauty and abundant wildlife.

The park begins at an elevation of about 7,650 and climbs up to the summit of Longs Peak at a towering 14,259. Within the park, youll find three major ecosystems: The montane begins just below the elevation of Estes Park (7,000) and continues up to about the elevation of Lily Lake (9,000). Here you will find coniferous forests comprised of lodgepole pine, fir, spruce, and ponderosa as well as open meadows, streams, and lakes. From about 9,000 until tree line (about 11,500) is the subalpine zone. In this area you will find some of the most dramatic terrain in the park, with many lakes lying just below towering peaks. Here the forests are dense, allowing little light to penetrate and limiting growth on the forest floor. At approximately 11,500 you reach tree line, the place where trees are no longer able to grow due to the consistently cold temperatures. This is the beginning of the alpine zone, which covers the parks high country. A full third of Rocky Mountain National Park is located above tree line. If you were to compare the average elevation of all national parks, RMNP would be considered the highest. Much of this alpine zone is tundra, a delicate grassy area void of trees. Most of this tundra is comprised of miniature plants that have learned to adapt in the harsh environment. Visitors must keep to marked trails on the tundra so as not to damage this extremely fragile landscape. Within all three of these zones you have plenty to explore and photograph.