Visitor center · Rocky Mountain National Park
A National Historic Landmark that helps you plan the day.
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 place
Beaver Meadows Visitor Center: Look at the Building“You're coming up on Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, a useful stop if you're still deciding how to spend the day. Staff can help with your plans, and the park film gives a quick introduction.”
Plays as you drive up to Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in the Parkwolf Rocky Mountain Tour Guide.
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“…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 Visitor Center is Rocky Mountain National Park's east-side information center, with staff to help you orient a visit. It sits on US 36 about a mile east of the separate Beaver Meadows Entrance, so it is an easy stop before you reach the gate. Come for park information, a quick introduction, or help deciding how to spend the day.
The low, horizontal building opened in 1967 during the Mission 66 era. Architect E. Thomas Casey made its structure part of the design, leaving stone, steel and glass visible. The building is a National Historic Landmark and a striking example of mid-century modern architecture in a national park.
Cor-ten steel has weathered to a rich red that echoes nearby ponderosa trunks. Lyons sandstone, broad panes of glass and repeated geometric beams tie the building to its setting. Look for the angular patterns that suggest mountain peaks, then notice how daylight moves through the main room.
Ask park staff for help with your plans, watch the park film, or browse books and gifts at the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Nature Store. The center also has a public flush restroom, drinking water, parking and Wi-Fi. The visitor center is separate from the entrance station, so keep the two stops straight when navigating.
Step back enough to catch the long, low roofline with the pines around it; closer views bring out the red steel, stone and triangular braces. The building itself is the subject, so include its geometry rather than framing only the mountain backdrop.
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 · 1.3 mi awayA quick hillside loop for wide meadow and mountain views.
EasyMoraine Park Loop4.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayRiver bends, meadow elk, and high peaks line this mellow loop.
ModerateEast Portal Loop5.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA forest loop starts beside an unusual mountain tunnel outlet.
ModerateSprague Lake via East Portal4.6 mi · 3 hr · 2.8 mi awayRocky switchbacks and aspen open onto Sprague Lake’s mountain reflections.
ChallengingUte Trail East6.1 mi · 6 hr · 2.8 mi awayA steep east-side crossing into open tundra.
ModerateUpper Beaver Meadows Loop5 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA five-mile loop climbs from meadow to broad Longs Peak views.
ModerateMill Creek Basin Loop3.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayA creekside Hollowell Park loop with a meadow start and aspen return.ChallengingHollowell Park Loop10.2 mi · 6 hr · 2.9 mi awayA long loop through Moraine Park, Cub Lake, and Mill Creek Basin.
Entrance station · 1.1 mi awayBeaver Meadows EntranceClosest entrance from Estes Park, with passes sold at the gate.
Visitor center · 1.3 mi awayMoraine Park Discovery CenterA former lodge with hands-on exhibits above Moraine Park.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayDeer MountainThe last steep steps open onto a wide Front Range panorama.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayMoraine ParkAn open glacial meadow with elk beneath Longs Peak and the Divide.
Picnic area · 1.9 mi awayTuxedo Park Picnic AreaA quiet creekside picnic, reached by steps from the road.
Picnic area · 2.3 mi awayUpper Beaver Meadows Picnic AreaA quiet roadside picnic with the Continental Divide in view.
Campground · 2.4 mi awayMoraine Park CampgroundElk bugles sometimes carry across camp on autumn nights.
Visitor center · 2.6 mi awayEstes Park Visitor CenterA town-side start for local advice and the seasonal RMNP shuttle.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
