Time Zone Change
Clocks fall back 1 hr on I-70 in far western Kansas, near Goodland.
Weather forecast
Sun, Jun 21Start
Hays, KS
79°
66°
💧 81% · 1.62″
En route
Estes Park, CO
77°
49°
💧 38% · 0.02″
Overnight
Laramie, WY
69°
47°
💧 22%
Forecast via Open-Meteo
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Rocky Mountain National Park
Jr. Ranger Badge
Junior Ranger badge — Beaver Meadows VC closes 6:00 PM
Game Plan
Arrive ~11:50 AM MT — plenty of badge time before the 6 PM close. Pick up books immediately, turn them in before you leave.
- Sprague Lake (0.9 mi loop · flat) — Easiest big-payoff walk in the park; wheelchair/stroller friendly with mountain reflections.
- Bear Lake (0.7 mi loop) — Iconic — but inside the Bear Lake Road timed-entry corridor; only if you booked that permit tier.
- Moraine Park meadow (out-and-back, any length) — Wander from the Cub Lake trailhead; best odds of elk in the afternoon.
- Many Parks Curve & Rainbow Curve overlooks on Trail Ridge Road (paved pullouts, no hiking)
- Big Thompson Canyon on the drive in — dramatic river gorge
Sunrise, Sunset & Golden Hour
Sunrise
5:32 AM MDT
Sunset
8:36 PM MDT
Be set up by (sunrise)
5:02 AM
Be set up by (sunset)
8:16 PM
Sunrise spot — Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain NP — flat, paved, accessible before the VC opens. Faces east across still water with the Continental Divide behind you. Glacier Gorge trailhead also works.
Sunrise 5:32 AM MDT — if the kids are game, Sprague Lake pre-dawn is magic. Back for 7 AM breakfast, still wheels-rolling by 7:30.
Sunset spot — Estes Park: Lake Estes dam overlook or US-34 pullout heading east, silhouetting the Flatirons. Or catch it driving US-287 through the Laramie Basin — any pullout at mile ~40.
You depart Estes Park by ~4:30 PM, driving through the Laramie Basin right at golden hour. Stop at any US-287 pullout between Tie Siding and Laramie.
Heads Up
Reservation required — book at the release time: RMNP uses timed-entry vehicle reservations in summer (recreation.gov), in two tiers (park-wide and the Bear Lake Road corridor). Additional tickets are released on June 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM MDT — be online and ready to book the moment they drop.
Sunday in late June = peak crowds. The 11 AM–3 PM window is busiest; badge first, hike second.
Trip Journal — Day 2
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