Parking
Several roadside spaces at the Beaver Ponds stop on Trail Ridge Road serve the boardwalk; the walk starts beside the pullout.
Overview
About Beaver Ponds Boardwalk
Why go
- A very short route reaches wetland and creek habitat
- Roadside parking and a picnic table
Heads up
- Beaver sightings are not assured
- Trail Ridge Road access is seasonal
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Rocky Mountain map
Full mapElevation9,160–9,186 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Rocky Mountain alerts
- ClosureOld Fall River Road closed to vehiclesOld Fall River Road is closed to motor vehicles for the season.Official details
- ClosureSun Valley burn-area access remains closedThe area and trail west of Sun Valley Trail remain closed, including the route used for angler access to the Colorado River, because of impacts from the 2020 East Troublesome and Cameron Peak Fires;…Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Rocky Mountain Tour Guide
Your drive to Beaver Ponds Boardwalk, narrated.
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 trailhead
Beaver Ponds: A Wetland Left by Dams0:00 / 0:24
“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 this trailhead in the Parkwolf Rocky Mountain Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Isabella Bird Writes Home
- Hidden Valley: A Former Ski Hill
- West Horseshoe Park: A Meadow-Level View
- Alluvial Fan and the Flood of 1982
- 79 audio storiesacross Rocky Mountain’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Elk, Moose, Mountain Goat, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 136 trails, 88 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Beaver Ponds Boardwalk
A quick wetland walkBeaver Ponds Boardwalk is a 0.
Beaver Ponds Boardwalk is a 0.2-mile round trip from the roadside stop on Trail Ridge Road into a meadow wetland. Allow about 15 minutes for the walk and a look around. The figure is approximate: the mapped path measures about 0.07 mile one way, shorter than half the stated total. This is a short nature pause, not a long hike or a reliable beaver-watching stop.
A landscape left by beaversBeaver dams once held back the stream here.
Beaver dams once held back the stream here. After they decayed, silt and organic matter built soil more than 20 feet deep; sedges and grasses now grow in that wet ground. The boardwalk reaches a creek-side view across the wetland. Water levels and wildlife sightings vary, so come for the marsh rather than counting on active ponds or beavers.
Access and what to knowSeveral roadside spaces serve the boardwalk, and there is a picnic table at the stop.
Several roadside spaces serve the boardwalk, and there is a picnic table at the stop. Trail Ridge Road closes seasonally with snow, so you can reach the walk only when that section is open. Dogs are prohibited on Rocky Mountain National Park trails and meadows. The boardwalk’s width, grade and surface transitions are not specified; confirm wheelchair access with the park before you go.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Rocky Mountain
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.
