In our popular consciousness, Rocky Mountain National Park is a mere image, a postcard, a simplified idea of quintessential Colorado: big mountains scraping a big sky.

But to truly appreciate the park, you have to know its specifics — the pieces, the dimensions, that all together paint an even more magnificent picture.

Here we reminisce on the destinations that make the park the icon that it is.

Trail Ridge Road

During construction in 1931, National Park Service Director Horace Albright remarked: “It is hard to describe what a sensation this new road is going to make.” We won’t attempt to describe the thrill and epic views at the crest near 12,200 feet.

From meadows to forests to alpine, the road is the ultimate 48-mile tour of the park from your car, covering either side from Estes Park to Grand Lake.

Old Fall River Road

We’ll call this a drive on the historic side — Rocky Mountain National Park’s first motor route established in 1920. We’ll call it a drive more on the wild side. The dirt, narrow, one-way road spans a steep, switchback-laden 11 miles toward 11,800 feet, toward the same stop as Trail Ridge: Alpine Visitor Center.

Mounts Chapin and Chiquita and Ypsilon Mountain

It’s called the “CCY Route” on the extensive and helpful online guide to trails in the park, RockyMountainHikingTrails.com. The website lists it as one of the best routes in all of the park. From Old Fall River Road, the trio of

peaks between 12,454 feet and 13,514 feet are hard-earned over an 8-mile round trip.

Longs Peak

It is the park’s most prominent point seen from afar, the resident 14,000foot sentinel that is not for the faint of heart. The sheer, vertical rock faces humble the most battle-tested climbers. They are called to vaunted formations known as the Keyhole and Diamond.

Bear Lake

Of all of the park’s lakes, this is probably the most-photographed. Bear Lake is the go-to spot for people entering the park’s most popular corridor. It’s much more than the water reflecting Rocky Mountain majesty. It’s the launch point for all possibilities of adventure.

Alberta Falls

This is commonly stop No. 2 for visitors to Bear Lake. It’s a short trek from the quick-to-fill parking lot at the Glacier Gorge trailhead; during the peak season, you’ll want to take the shuttle from Estes Park Visitor Center. The hike to Alberta Falls is especially lovely in the fall, when aspen trees glow on the way to the roaring, 30-foot cascade.

Lake Haiyaha

Social media took the lake’s popularity to new heights in 2022. Photos showed the lake had turned a milky green — the result of mineral shakeup from massive rock fall. No matter the color, Haiyaha is a delight for the backdrop that is Hallett Peak, one of the park’s most dramatic promontories.

Sky Pond

Also from the Glacier Gorge trailhead, the icy pool perched high in a granite bowl is a bucket-list destination. That’s for other super scenic sites along the way: Timberline Falls and Lake of Glass. Including the scramble beside Timberline Falls, it’s about 4½ miles one way to Sky Pond, where

towering, curving pillars called Cathedral Spires or Sharkstooth take the breath away.

Moraine Park

In the national park’s early days, someone had the idea for a golf course and resort here. Thank goodness someone had the idea to return the ancient, glacier-carved meadow to its original state. Moraine Park is super busy during the elk rut, when people stop to admire the animals amid the rolling splendor.

East Inlet

The west side of Rocky Mountain National Park, from the town of Grand Lake, is less trafficked than the Estes Park side. Not far from Grand Lake’s Main Street, this trailhead is something of a hidden gem, without the formal entrance stations at other park portals. The first attraction is Adams Falls, followed by idyllic East Meadow, followed by more waterfalls and lakes if you choose to go the distance.

Mount Ida

The best-of list at RockyMountainHikingTrails.com calls this the park’s best hike “hands down.” From the Grand Lake entrance, the Poudre Lake trailhead is found off Milner Pass. The website chronicles a round trip of 9.6 miles to the summit below 13,000 feet, with sweeping, smile-inducing vistas all the way.

Coyote Valley Trail

The park interprets “valley of the coyote” from an Arapaho word, Kawuneeche. Much of the west side of the park is defined by the Kawuneeche Valley, a Colorado River-cut swath that was partially burned by a 2020 wildfire. This short, flat trail loop is wheelchair accessible, touring a butterfly valley overlooked by the Never Summer Mountains.