Sight · Rocky Mountain National Park
The park's lone stable pairs guided rides with mountain scenery.
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
Glacier Creek Stables: Choose Your Ride“Glacier Creek Stables is coming up, where guided horseback rides take you onto the park's mountain trails.”
Plays as you drive up to Glacier Creek Stables 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
Glacier Creek Stables is the park's only in-park stable, an equestrian concession on Sprague Lake Road. Its guided rides trade road views for time on mountain trails. If you want to see the park from horseback without bringing your own horse, this is the place to plan an outing.
The operator advertises outings from two hours to longer half- or full-day rides. It describes the shortest ride as easy and longer options as more demanding, with age and experience requirements that vary by route. Each ride starts with an orientation, and helmets are provided. A two-hour ride is still a substantial time in the saddle, so choose the length to suit the least experienced rider in your group.
The park closes some trails and areas to stock. The stable describes its two-hour ride as starting at Sprague Lake, while the park's stock closure list includes the Sprague Lake Area; confirm the exact open route with the stable before booking. From Beaver Meadows, the operator's directions say to drive 5.8 miles on Bear Lake Road, then turn onto Sprague Lake Road. The listed address is approximate and phone service can be intermittent in the park, so save or print the directions before you set out. The stable operates seasonally, so check its dates before planning a ride.
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
EasySprague Lake Nature Trail0.8 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayA nearly level loop with lake and Continental Divide views.
ChallengingStorm Pass Trail7.3 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayCross a high pass and finish beside Lily Lake.
ChallengingBoulder Brook Loop8.6 mi · 5 hr · 0.9 mi awayClimb beside cascades, then loop back past Alberta Falls.
ModerateBierstadt Lake Trail2.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.1 mi awaySteady moraine switchbacks end at a lake beneath the Continental Divide.
ChallengingHollowell Park Loop10.2 mi · 6 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long loop through Moraine Park, Cub Lake, and Mill Creek Basin.ModerateMill Creek Basin Loop3.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA creekside Hollowell Park loop with a meadow start and aspen return.
ModerateSprague Lake via East Portal4.6 mi · 3 hr · 1.4 mi awayRocky switchbacks and aspen open onto Sprague Lake’s mountain reflections.
ModerateEast Portal Loop5.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayA forest loop starts beside an unusual mountain tunnel outlet.
Sight · 0.3 mi awaySprague LakeA gentle lake loop for Divide views and possible moose sightings.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayPark & Ride Transit HubPark once for free shuttles to Bear Lake Road stops.
Campground · 0.6 mi awayGlacier Basin CampgroundA handy base for Bear Lake corridor starts.Sight · 1.1 mi awayBierstadt LakeMountain reflections reward the steep walk in.
Picnic area · 1.3 mi awayHollowell ParkA meadow picnic with Longs Peak across the basin.
Picnic area · 1.9 mi awayTuxedo Park Picnic AreaA quiet creekside picnic, reached by steps from the road.
Sight · 2.2 mi awayAlberta FallsA short, uphill hike ends at a thunderous waterfall.
Sight · 2.4 mi awayBear LakeA classic alpine lake, with Hallett Peak just beyond the shore.Parkwolf’s Rocky Mountain ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
