We decided to take Friday off from hiking to recuperate from the previous day’s ascent of Longs. It was a perfect opportunity to hop into the cars and take a drive up Trail Ridge Road.

Trail Ridge Road connects the east and west sides of the park, spanning 48 miles between Estes Park and Grand Lake. Reaching a peak elevation of 12,183 feet (and 15 miles are above 11,000 feet), it is the highest highway in the county. There are numerous pull-offs for scenic overlooks along the way.

Obviously, TRR offers fantastic mountain views, but it is also one of the best tours of the park for wildlife watching. I would venture to say that it is a near impossibility to drive TRR without at least seeing elk, but it is also one of the best places to spot bighorn sheep.

In three of the past four trips to Rocky, including this one, I have spotted bighorn up on TRR. If you really want to see bighorn, your best bet is to take a drive up TRR every evening, a few hours before sunset, during your trip. This trip, we only drove TRR twice, but we lucked out anyway – and at mid-day this time, too.

Not much more narration is really necessary. Below are some pictures from the drive.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

That afternoon, we played a round of golf and walked around Estes Park. Tomorrow, we would finish our trip by hiking the Bear Lake to Fern Lake Loop.