Entrance station · Rocky Mountain National Park
Closest entrance from Estes Park, with passes sold at the gate.
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
A New Rack Every Year“A mule deer buck grows a whole new set of antlers every year. If you see one with soft-looking, fuzzy antlers in summer, that covering is called velvet. It carries blood to the growing bone underneath.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from Beaver Meadows Entrance 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 Meadows Entrance is the east-side gate into Rocky Mountain National Park on US 36, about 3.5 miles west of Estes Park. It is the closest entrance to town. Rangers sell park passes and answer visitor questions at the booth.
This is the entrance station, not the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. The center is a separate stop about a mile farther west, near park headquarters. NPS says visitors with detailed questions may be sent there when traffic is heavy, so use the gate for passes and quick questions and save a longer orientation for the visitor center.
NPS says this station usually receives the park’s highest visitor volume. A 2000–2001 remodel added an entrance lane to reduce waiting. This is a practical arrival point rather than a place to linger.
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
EasyMoraine Park Discovery Center Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.6 mi awayA quick hillside loop for wide meadow and mountain views.
EasyMoraine Park Loop4.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayRiver bends, meadow elk, and high peaks line this mellow loop.
ChallengingUte Trail East6.1 mi · 6 hr · 1.8 mi awayA steep east-side crossing into open tundra.
ModerateUpper Beaver Meadows Loop5 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayA five-mile loop climbs from meadow to broad Longs Peak views.
ModerateCub Lake Trail4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2 mi awayA meadow crossing and aspen climb lead to a lily-pad lake.
ChallengingDeer Mountain Trail6.2 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayEarly meadow views lead to a steep climb and broad summit panorama.
EasyLittle Horseshoe Park Loop3.9 mi · 2 hr · 2.1 mi awayA gentle meadow loop with open Mummy Range views.
ModerateMill Creek Basin Loop3.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA creekside Hollowell Park loop with a meadow start and aspen return.
Visitor center · 0.6 mi awayMoraine Park Discovery CenterA former lodge with hands-on exhibits above Moraine Park.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayMoraine ParkAn open glacial meadow with elk beneath Longs Peak and the Divide.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayDeer MountainThe last steep steps open onto a wide Front Range panorama.
Visitor center · 1.1 mi awayBeaver Meadows Visitor CenterA National Historic Landmark that helps you plan the day.
Picnic area · 1.3 mi awayUpper Beaver Meadows Picnic AreaA quiet roadside picnic with the Continental Divide in view.
Campground · 1.3 mi awayMoraine Park CampgroundElk bugles sometimes carry across camp on autumn nights.
Picnic area · 1.4 mi awayTuxedo Park Picnic AreaA quiet creekside picnic, reached by steps from the road.
Picnic area · 2.1 mi awayHollowell ParkA meadow picnic with Longs Peak across the basin.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
