Sight · Rocky Mountain National Park
A short boardwalk into a wetland shaped by old beaver dams.
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 Ponds: A Wetland Left by Dams“The Beaver Ponds boardwalk is coming up, a short walk into a wetland left by beaver dams. Allow about fifteen minutes for the roughly two-tenths-of-a-mile round trip.”
Plays as you drive up to Beaver Ponds 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 Ponds is a small wetland stop on Trail Ridge Road, reached by a 0.2-mile round-trip boardwalk. It’s a good quick pause if you’re interested in how beavers change a landscape, but keep expectations modest: when water is low, the ponds can look more like a stream, and beaver sightings aren’t guaranteed. A roadside pullout and picnic table serve the stop.
Beavers once dammed the stream here. Silt and organic material collected behind the dams; after the dams decayed, they left rich soil more than 20 feet deep. Sedges and grasses took hold in that soil, forming wet marshes that support insects, birds and mammals. Visitors sometimes report elk or mule deer nearby, but wildlife sightings aren’t guaranteed.
This is an east-side stop, but the cross-park road is seasonal: Trail Ridge Road closes to through travel from mid-October to late May, weather permitting. Check its status before planning to cross the park.
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
EasyBeaver Ponds Boardwalk0.2 mi · 15 min · At the trailheadA short boardwalk into a wetland shaped by old beaver dams.
EasyAlluvial Fan Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 0.8 mi awayA bridge and waterfall on a trail shaped by a 1982 flood.
EasyHidden Valley Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.8 mi awayTwo footbridges make this short creekside loop worth a stop.
ChallengingLawn Lake Trail12.4 mi · 5.5 hr · 1 mi awayA hard climb to a lake in a valley remade by flood.
ChallengingCrystal Lakes Trail15.4 mi · 10 hr · 1 mi awayTwo alpine lakes below Mount Fairchild make for a very long day.
ChallengingYpsilon Lake Trail9 mi · 7 hr · 1 mi awayA long climb to a lake beneath Ypsilon's snow-filled couloir.
ChallengingThe Saddle via Lawn Lake Trail16.7 mi · 9 hr · 1 mi awayA high saddle beyond Lawn Lake makes this a full-day climb.
EasyLittle Horseshoe Park Loop3.9 mi · 2 hr · 1.8 mi awayA gentle meadow loop with open Mummy Range views.
Scenic pullout · 0.8 mi awayWest Horseshoe Park PulloutA quick stop for meadow views beneath the Mummy Range.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayAlluvial FanSee the 1982 flood's boulder fan break into a rushing cascade.Sight · 0.9 mi awayHidden ValleyEasy sled runs on a former ski hill, plus a creekside walk.
Sight · 1 mi awayMany Parks Curve OverlookThe lowland parks and Longs Peak line up from this roadside curve.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayRainbow Curve OverlookA quick stop above Horseshoe Park's broad, glacial valley.
Sight · 1.2 mi awaySheep LakesScan the valley for moose, sheep and elk from the roadside.
Picnic area · 1.3 mi awayEndovalley Picnic AreaA shaded picnic loop by the river at Old Fall River Road.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayChasm FallsA short walk to a waterfall tucked into a granite cleft.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
