Sunday, October 11, 2026

Snow Mountain Ranch Part 2


 As I wrote in my last blog post, at the end of September, my husband and I stayed for the first time in a lodge at the YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch, in Granby, Colorado.



We had a glorious view from our room's back porch, with golden fall colored aspens all around and the mighty Rocky Mountains in the distance.


Since we arrived in the early afternoon, we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park to enter through the West entrance. The park has timed entry during the busiest times of the year, but everyone with a pass can enter after 2 PM, and my husband and I have lifetime senior passes that allow us to visit any US National Park for free!



We passed ranches along the half-hour drive to the park...



...with many cattle grazing alongside the road.



As we passed Lake Granby, which is usually the third-largest body of water in Colorado.  We could see how low it was due to the prolonged drought Colorado has been experiencing this year.


We saw lots of fall color along the drive, but also began seeing burned trees from the terrible 2020 wildfires--the East Troublesome Fire, and the Cameron Peak Fire,  which burned a total of 370,000 acres in Colorado.


Both wildfires entered the western part of  Rocky Mountain National Park and burned 30,000 acres there.


As we drove further into the park, the forest returned to normal and the views were beautiful!


The weather was changing--we could see rain in the distance--but we stopped to walk a trail that led to the Colorado River. This 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river, the Fifth-longest in the United States, drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. You can see a short video I took of the river at this link on YouTube.


We drove up Trail Ridge Road toward the Never Summer Mountains viewpoint. They are a small volcanic range along the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, and we enjoyed the views. The elevation at the Never Summer Mountain viewpoint is approximately 12,520 feet (6858 meters). This viewpoint offers stunning panoramic views of the surrounding landscapes, including the diverse terrains of the Never Summer Wilderness.

As the hour was getting late, we decided to drive back toward Snow Mountain Ranch.




Some beautiful mountain views...


...as we drove back down to the Kawuneeche Valley.

The Holzwarth Historic Site is located here, but we have visited in the past, so we did not stop again this time.



We did stop to visit the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, one of many visitor centers within the park. It has information and maps,  backcountry camping permits, exhibits, a Rocky Mountain Conservancy bookstore, park films, and ranger-led activities.


Please click on this photo x 2 to enlarge it to read the information.

I found this placard with information about the difference between the east and west sides of the portion of the Continental Divide located in the park. 


We drove back to the lodge at Snow Mountain Ranch, where we had dinner in the cafeteria for a small fee. The food was good and plentiful, and it was "all-you-can-eat" "home-cooking" style cuisine. We really enjoyed the assortment of salad fixings and the main entree. We looked forward to the next day, when we would explore the area--my next post.

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