Free Resources for Discovering Rocky Mountain National Park

Our family has been researching new travel spots and family vacation ideas. The national parks are at the top of our list, with Rocky Mountain National Park being one of them. Even if you can’t travel, you will love exploring from your own home with these free resources and rocky mountain national park webcams.

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Where is Rocky Mountain National Park?

Rocky Mountain National Park is located outside of Denver International Airport in North Central Colorado in the front range of the Rocky Mountains and is one of the loveliest vacation destinations in the U.S.A.

It is 415 square miles long and 265,761 acres in size. The 30-mile-long Continental Divide Trail runs directly through the the park, splitting it into its Eastern and Western sections almost equally. 

You will really feel like you are “on top of the world” when you visit this park. This park is home to the highest visitor center and paved road in the United States: Trail Ridge Road. 

It is nicknamed the “highway in the sky” where the mountains touch the clouds. Its highest point is 12,183 ft. with high winds. It includes many overlooks where you can see the subalpine and alpine views. 

There are over 300 miles of hiking trails. With flat easy hikes that go around the base of a mountain and mountain lakes, to strenuous hikes on multi day backpacking and climbing trips, there is something for every outdoor enthusiast.

What is the history of Rocky Mountain National Park?

The U.S Government acquired the land in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase. Spanish explorers and fur trappers explored the land. The abundant amount of animals brought in lots of homesteaders, hunters, trappers and tourists. 

Conservationists were concerned for the future of the park. On January 26, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act to protect the nature and wildlife from further disruption.

Free Resources for Discovering Rocky Mountain National Park

There are Rocky Mountain National Park coloring pages, itineraries and worksheet printables and articles to help plan your trip.

Rocky Mountain National Park Coloring Page – Beautiful coloring page that would look really nice colored in with colored pencils.

Worksheet and Coloring Page for Rocky Mountains National Park – Color the country’s most famous mountain ranges on this coloring sheet.

Rocky Mountain Park Brochure – Download and print the printable park maps to help plan your trips from the national park service.

Printable Rocky Mountain Checklist – Keep track of where you have visited and where you still want to go in Rocky Mountains. 

Rocky Mountain National Park Itinerary – Check out these free itineraries to help you plan what to see and do for 1 to 5 days. 

10 Best Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park – There are 300 miles of hiking trails, find out which hikes are the best to take. 

The 26 Best Hikes for Every Hiker in Rocky Mountain National Park – Broken down from easy to strenuous hikes for a variety of hikers.

What to do in Rocky Mountain National Park with Kids – Traveling to the park with kids? Find out the best things you can do as a family in the park.

Fun Facts with fun information and web links for kids. There are ideas for projects and research papers all compiled by Rocky Mountain National Park.

Printable Teacher Guides and Unit Studies – Lots of great unit studies and teacher guides on the ecosystems of the park, cultural history, aquatic ecology, and so much more.

Recommended Resource: National Parks Notebook – A Notebook Companion™ for National Parks of the U.S.A. Explore the national parks of the U.S.A with our publisher-approved Notebook Companion™. Using the notebook alongside the popular book book National Parks of the U.S.A. will help you squeeze all the amazing content out of it and use it for your homeschool.

Rocky Mountain National Park Webcams 

Have you ever considered checking out a Rocky Mountain National Park webcam? You can see what is happening live in the park without needing to leave your home. Get up close with the wildlife without disturbing them and watch them on live streams each day.

There are lots of views of wildlife, nature, sunsets and beautiful sunrises.

Estes Park Web Cams – Live streams of the Alpine Visitor Center and Longs Peak at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Alpine Visitor Center Webcam – Located at the highest elevation visitor center in the National Park System. This webcam reveals views of Mount Chapin, Fall River Canyon, Old Fall River Road, and part of Trail Ridge. 

Kawuneeche Valley Webcam – This webcam on the Never Summer Mountains look down on the headwaters of the Colorado River in this view of the Kawuneeche Valley.

Continental Divide Webcam – View the mountain peaks that rise up from Bear Lake.

Fall River US 34 Entrance – This webcam is looking east from the park entrance station, showing how many vehicles are entering the park each day near Fall River Pass.

Longs Peak Webcam . – The webcam shows you views of Longs Peak which is the tallest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Beaver Meadows US 36 Entrance – View east of the Beaver Meadows entrance showing the cars coming in.

What types of animals can you find at Rocky Mountain National Park?

Rocky Mountain National Park is home to over 100 butterfly species, mammals, fish, birds, insects, and endangered animal species.

Animals and Nature of the Park 

You can click through each photo in the categories to dig deeper and research each of the animals at Rocky Mountain National Park. There are over 400 bighorn sheep located throughout the park, and these majestic creatures are the symbol of the park. You may also see black bears and mountain goats.

There is a great breakdown of history, scientific facts, and lots of photographs of these species in their natural habitat in the park at these links.

Multi Media Experiences of Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park has some amazing multi media experiences. They really make you feel like you are there from the comfort of your home.

Photo Gallery – This gallery shows the park during the winter season, wildflowers, lakes and waterfalls, Longs Peak, trees and park scenery.

Videos and Educational Video Presentation Series – Watch videos about the Rocky Mountain greenhouse, videos on how to survive in the park terrain, explore scientific research and learn about fire and how it shaped the land. 

In Conclusion

Before you travel to Rocky Mountain National Park, be sure to see what it’s all about by viewing some of the live streams from the Estes Park, Kawuneeche Valley, Alpine Visitor Center, Continental Divide, Longs Peak, and Beaver Meadows webcams. You can even go on a virtual field trip to this popular national park by viewing a Rocky Mountain National Park webcam – how cool is that?