The showpiece of the park is Trail Ridge Road, between Estes Park and Grand Lake. This 45-mile stretch of US-34, said to be the highest highway in the world, affords a succession of tremendous views, and several short trails start from parking lots along the way. There are no services en route, and rangers advise that you allow three to four hours' driving time. The road is normally open from late May to mid-October. As winter deepens and the snow falls, it is blocked progressively lower down, but you can always expect to get as far as Many Peaks Cure from the east or the Colorado river Trailhead from the west. Snowfall is typically heaviest during March and April. The definite highlight is the stretch of road on both sides of the Alpine visitor center; here the peaks and alpine tundra will take your breath away.

While many people do little more than the drive along Trail Ridge Road, the park is best appreciated by getting out of the car and hiking. Recommending any one hiking trail above another isn't necessary as there are dozens of superb hikes to choose from. Instead, think about the kind of experience you're after - photographing a particular animal, for instance, or hiking across the Continental Divide - and plan around this with a ranger's help. While a hike on the wild, wind-blown tundra is (literally) the high spot of any visit, the ecosystem is so delicate that it is essential to stay on the paths. Be watchful of your own system at this altitude: dehydration and altitude sickness affect some park visitors each year, so plan hikes conservatively and drink plenty of fluids.

Between June and September, the informative Alpine visitor Center, halfway along Trail Ridge Road at Fall river Pass, marks the center of the park; it has good exhibits on the alpine tundra (summer only daily 9am-5pm).

You can also drive here in summer along the unpaved Old Fall river Road ; completed in 1920, the first road to be built in the park. This runs one-way only (east-west) along the bed of a alley cared into a U-shape by glaciers. While it doesn't have open mountain vistas, it's much quieter than the Trail Ridge, and there's far more chance of spotting wildlife . Roaming the park are moose, coyote, mountain lions and a total population of perhaps thirty black bears, which with a plentiful natural food supply tend to avoid contact with humans. The central and southern tracts of this wilderness are all but impenetrable; only a well-planned hiking expedition can get you into the remoter forests and alleys.

Just inside the park, near the Estes Park entrance, a spur road, open year-round, leads south to two small and pristine alpine lakes. On the way, the Moraine Park Museum (summer only daily 9am-5pm) has a well-laid-out set of exhibits on the park's natural history. Beyond here, to ease the traffic in summer, a free and very regular shuttle bus from the Glacier Basin parking area runs the last few miles up to Bear Lake (every 15-30min from approximately 8:30am until 5.30pm; check at the visitor centers for the day's schedule), which is the park's most definitive viewpoint, with the mountains framed to perfection beyond the cool, still waters. Sprague Lake, lower down, has been landscaped to provide access for disabled visitors: a dead-level paved path encircles the shore, and there are special camping facilities for up to twelve people plus six wheelchairs (contact the park HQ for details).

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