Latest photos from Rocky Mountain National Park

On a quiet evening a star-filled sky can be seen above Longs Peak and Chiefs Head Mtn. I actually made a full video about this outing and how I go about photographing the night skies. You can watch it at this link:

The clouds break raround the spires above Sky Pond on a late August morning. The light broke through for just a minute, but that was enough to make this photo of this breathtaking place. You can watch a video about this morning here:

As is quite typical, the second half of August usually has a lot of dynamic weather and often rain. This morning, fast moving clouds were pouring over Longs Peak while the day's first light illuminated its eastern face. It was quite a delight to watch.

This morning I was out for sunrise and storm clouds were threatening. For just a short while, the sun broke through with most of the light falling around Clarks Peak, which is about 10 miles northwest of Rocky Mountain National Park. If you look closely at this photo you might be able to spot Old Fall River Road in the foreground on the left side.

This morning there was a gentle beauty to the park. Longs Peak looked so peaceful as it towered high over Beaver Meadows on this mid-August morning. At this time of year the late-summer hues are appearing as the grasses begin to change and the light is often diffused by the smoke of distant wildfires. This creates a special softness ot the world. It's a wonderful, but overlooked beauty that often appears at this time of year.

It may be a couple of weeks until I can post again as I have some family responsibilites to attend to. Thanks for your patience!

This morning the smoke has cleared from Rocky Mountain National Park and the fires just east of Estes Park have been contained. It was wonderful to again experience Rocky in all its beauty. I hiked in about six miles this morning for sunrise and enjoyed some of the last of the wildflowers below jagged peaks. What a great way to start a day!

We've had a lot of smoke lately, making it hard to do much photography at all. This has been exacerbated by the active fires just to the east of Rocky Mountain National Park. As the smoke clears, I'll get back to my photography and will share new images here. In the meantime, this is what it looks like up here.

Last night I hiked up to a lake that still had quite a bit of ice in it. In the still water of that lake I was able to photograph the reflection of Longs Peak as it was lit by the warm light of the setting sun.

I've been trying for a number of years to get a good photo of this remote area, but without success until today. This is a valley deep in Rocky Mountain National Park that is off trail and is often filled with wildflowers. It is also a very wet and marshy area with plenty of mosquitoes to protect the valley from over-visitation. :)

I think this was either my third or fourth visit here this summer trying to get this photo. Today, the clouds cooperated. They filled the sky over the mountains but also opened up to the east allowing the rising sun to fill them with color. I was so delighted to be here and finally see this image come together. I hope you enjoy it!

After photographing the sunset about 10 miles back into the wilderness in Rocky Mountain National Park, I sat on the edge of this calm lake to have dinner before continuing my hike back to the trailhead. There was such a wonderful peacefulness to this quiet place as the last of the day's light disappeared into the darkness.

This morning I spent sunrise up at Chasm Lake, at the base of the towering east face of Longs Peak. The entire area lit up with deep red as the sun rose, making this magnificent scene even more incredible. This is definitely one of my favorite hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, especially early in the morning.

The wildflowers are out in the alpine tundra and when you pair that with a gorgeous sunset it becomes magical. This was one of those really special evenings along the Eastern Ute Trail.

Despite it being the month of July we had a snowstorm up on Trail Ridge Road with about a half inch of snow. It only lasted for about an hour and then it cleared up. The rest of the day was quite nice and delightful, even up in the high country. Here's a video I made that day: https://shorturl.at/4AEfF

This morning at sunrise we had a rainstorm pass through. There was an opening to the east allowing the sunlight to shine into the storm creating a beautiful rainbow over the Eagle Cliff formation. The day then went on to be quite sunny, though a bit windy. If you are enjoying these photos, be sure to stop by my gallery in Estes Park.

This morning I headed up to Black Lake for sunrise. It was overcast and windy and it felt like a storm was blowing in. Nonetheless, I continued on because mornings like this can result in no interesting light or it can result in something really special. It seemed worth the gamble and somehow the sun found a crack in the clouds for a few minutes and put on an amazing show. The color up on McHenry's Peak and the surrounding clouds was so vibrant that it didn't seem real. It was a real treat to be there to see it.

The Never Summer Mountains live up to their name as they hold on to snow longer than most mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. On this beautiful morning, they catch the first rays of the rising sun as white crowned sparrows joyfully sing their new day song.

As the sun sets on this Saturday evening, it illuminates the mountains along Forest Canyon. Storm clouds roll back and a deep silence settles over the land as it prepares for the arrival of the nightfall. Soon, darkness and sleep will prevail in this beautiful landscape until the sun returns.

This morning was the earliest sunrise of the year and the most northerly the sun will rise. I decided to head up to spend some time with Notchtop Mountain this morning. There was still quite a bit of snow on the trail and the first light was a bit delayed due to clouds in the east, but when the sun arrived it put on a spectacular show.

On Saturday evening I hiked up to one of my favorite backcountry locations on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park for sunset. There was still quite a bit of soft deep snow in the forest as I made my way up, as well as a lot of flooding on the trail, but it was worth it for a view like this.

This morning we had breaking clouds over Longs Peak at sunrise and I couldn't resist photographing them. As we move into the summer season, we generally have clear skies in the morning and so I wanted to make the most of the clouds. I headed to a patch of golden banner (thermopsis montana) that are in bloom to serve as the foreground. They seemed to almost glow. Such beauty seems to speak to our very soul, if we take the time to slow down and listen.

Long Peak looks down on a peaceful meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park as a bull elk relaxes below a Ponderosa Pine. This is the wonder of Rocky in early June as all of us celebrate the return of life to the national park.

What a spectacular morning we had today. The clouds and mountains glowed with rich pink and orange hues at sunrise. There's still a lot of snow on the way up and around Dream Lake, but with microspikes it really isn't a problem at all.

What an amazing way to begin the month of June! Blue skies, snowy peaks and vibrant green aspen. I also saw mule deer, elk, and a couple of moose this morning. It's one of those special days that you want to bottle up and keep for a rainy day. I hope many of you can get out and enjoy this wonderful spring season.

This morning was truly delightful as clouds swirled around Longs Peak while bright green aspen trees stretched their arms into the sky as if in thanks for this beautiful morning. Spring is in full swing here in Rocky Mountain National Park on this last day of May.

The ice is finally melting off of Bear Lake though there is still quite a bit of snow around the lake and on the trails at this elevation. Down low in Moraine Park everything is turning green. It's a stunning time of year to be in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This morning I was in Beaver Meadows at sunrise and enjoyed a nearly full moon setting over the snowy peaks. For the first time in a long while there was almost no wind, making it quite pleasant to be out. Long Peak looked fabulous with all of its fresh snow and as you can see the grasses in the meadow are really turning green.

This morning I was out in Beaver Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park and the aspen trees are beginning to put out their leaves while Longs Peak is still covered with lots of snow. It's a delightful time of year when everything is coming back to life. Tomorrow, we start the busy season as Memorial Weekend arrives. The timed-entry permit system goes into effect tomorrow and will continue through mid-October. Also, Trail Ridge Road is still closed due to lots of snow in May. If you visit the News section of this website you can see some recent photos taken up there by the snowplow crews.

I apologize for the large gap in posting photos here. I took a break in preparation for the busy summer season. I'm back now and will be posting regularly.

On this recent morning there was a light fog on Lily Lake as the day's first light illuminated Longs Peak and Mount Meeker. A couple of Canadian geese swam past me with their loud morning greeting. It was another perfect start to a day in Rocky.

The pasque flowers are blooming all over the lower elevations of Rocky Mountain National Park. For me, this is really the start of spring. These days the weather is quite warm, sometimes getting up into the 60s and green grass is beginning to appear beneath the brown. However, there's still a lot of snow in the mountains with 46" of snow still at Bear Lake, which is about average for this time of year.

It was such a wonderfully quiet morning today, as only April can be. The road coming into Rocky Mountain National Park's Beaver Meadow Entrance was empty as a the warm light of the rising sun filled the world with color and gentleness.

I skied up Flattop Mountain for my 14th time since the start of the year. Before I reached tree line I found myself in thick clouds. As I finally passed the trees it was a complete whiteout, making it a little challenging to navigate. Fortunately, I had been up here enough that I knew pretty well where I was headed. When I finally reached the top of the spires, I broke through the clouds and they flew in and out of the surounding spires and mountains. Every minute or so the clouds would completely obscure everything and then the world would return. It was so dramatic and spectacular.

We've had some really warm days over the last couple of weeks and that has melted much of the snow, especially in the lower parts of the park as you can see in this photo looking west in Horseshoe Park. However, starting this afternoon and continuing through all of this week and next it will be raining in the lower areas and snowing up high. I'm assuming that this will cause things to begin to turn green quite quickly

This morning I headed up Lump Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph at sunrise. Thick clouds moved in over the eastern horizon blocking the warm morning light, but about 20 minutes later the sun rose above the clouds as I photographed the barren rock and limber pine of Lumpy Ridge. In the distance you can see Longs Peak all covered in thick snow and clouds.

Longs Peak looks down on beautiful Lake Haiyaha on a lovely early April afternoon. The lake is still covered in deep snow, as winter still prevails at these high elevations. The trail up here from Dream Lake should only be used when avalanche danger is low and the trail from Dream to Haiyaha does require snowshoes, some wayfinding, and good balance on the steep sections.

On Wednesday April 3rd I took a walk up to the summit of Twin Sisters Peaks. The trail begins next to Lily Lake on Highway 7. The trail was snowcovered all the way up and with the warm weather we've been having recently, snowshoes are recommended to keep from breaking through. This photo shows the approach to the summit after the trail leaves the last of the trees. It was another beautiful day to be out in Rocky Mountain National Park.