Picnic area · Rocky Mountain National Park
A quiet meadow picnic stop with autumn elk viewing.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Rocky Mountain Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Rocky Mountain National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Rocky Mountain audio tourRecorded for this area
Elizabeth Burnell Leads the Way“Elizabeth Burnell came here as a tourist in nineteen sixteen, then became one of the park's early licensed women guides. Qualifying meant knowing geology, plants, wildlife, and first aid, along with the roads and trails.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from Beaver Creek Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Rocky Mountain Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“…No cell service for majority of the day but had continuous access to the app - the maps, the tour guide as you drive is amazing. Highly recommend purchasing the subscription.”
Guide
Beaver Creek is a roadside picnic area on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park’s west-side Kawuneeche Valley. Four tables sit on a low rise overlooking a meadow. It’s a simple place to stop for a picnic and look across the valley; the picnic areas are first come, first served.
The slightly elevated tables give you an open view over the meadow and toward the forested valley slopes. The park highlights autumn elk rut viewing here. Watch from a safe distance and give wildlife room to move.
There are four tables and four fire grates; portable grills aren’t allowed. There is no on-site restroom. The park directs visitors to Beaver Ponds Picnic Area just south or Timber Lake trailhead to the north for restrooms.
Wildlife
3,124 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
1,601 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
19 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
19 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
30 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
270 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Rocky Mountain. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingTimber Lake Trail9.6 mi · 6.5 hr · 0.5 mi awayA steady forest climb opens into a high lake basin.
ModerateLittle Yellowstone Canyon Trail10.8 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayRiverside meadows give way to a colorful canyon and a steep climb.
ChallengingDutch Town Trail12 mi · 10 hr · 0.6 mi awayClimb to faint mining traces below the Never Summer Range.
ModerateRed Mountain Trail to Grand Ditch6.4 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayClimb to the Grand Ditch for Never Summer Range views.
ChallengingLake of the Clouds Trail13.2 mi · 13.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA long, rough scramble to a lake beneath the Never Summer peaks.
ChallengingThunder Pass Trail14 mi · 9 hr · 0.6 mi awayA long climb links old mining remains with an open alpine pass.
ChallengingSkeleton Gulch Trail12.4 mi · 11 hr · 0.6 mi awayA 12.4-mile out-and-back to a remote one-site camp.
ModerateColorado River Trail to Lulu City7.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayFollow the old wagon road to a flowered mining-town site.
Picnic area · 0.4 mi awayBeaver Ponds Picnic AreaA picnic beside two ponds, with a stairway down to the water.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayFarview Curve OverlookThe Grand Ditch cuts a pencil line across the Never Summer Range.
Campground · 1.1 mi awayTimber Creek CampgroundWest-side camping at 8,900 feet, near Grand Lake.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayHolzwarth Historic SiteA mile-long loop through a valley homestead and guest ranch.
Sight · 2 mi awayLake IreneA quick lakeside loop and picnic stop on Trail Ridge Road.
Sight · 2.6 mi awayMilner PassStand at the Continental Divide beside Poudre Lake.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayTimber LakeA steep climb to a lake beneath two high peaks.
Picnic area · 3.4 mi awayCoyote Valley Picnic AreaA riverside picnic with views of the Never Summer Mountains.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
