When we arrived on the first day, we really enjoyed stopping in the picnic area near Sprague Lake for a picnic. The air was so fresh and smelled so wonderfully of the pine (which is really nice when you're used to city air!!). The kids ate their lunches quickly so they could run around the area and look for different flowers and wildlife.
Next, we headed to one of the ranger stations to pick up the official Junior Ranger Activities Booklet (for ages 5 and under). The booklet includes 8 fun activities for the kids to do while they're in the park. In order to become a Junior Ranger, they get to do the activities in the booklet, then they need to take the booklet to any visitor center and talk to a ranger about what they saw and did in the park. Then, the ranger will sign their booklet and give them an official Junior Ranger badge.
As we were driving to our first hike, we stopped at a place on the road where there were lots of cars pulled over, wondering what they were all looking at. There were two HUGE male elks hanging out, letting everyone take pictures from relatively close distances; very impressive with their big horns!
Our first lake hike was to Sprague Lake. This lake hike is short (about 1/4 mile long) and flat. The kids had a blast running ahead of us and looking for all sorts of animals. We played "Eye Spy" and they saw fish, squirrels, chipmunks (their favorite), a family of ducks with their 3 little ducklings. They also enjoyed seeing a man fishing in the lake and several families either fishing with poles (one of the boys said they had already caught one fish that afternoon) or using nets to catch fish in a little stream leading up to the lake.
The other activity (from the Junior Ranger booklet) that the kids really loved playing was the Scavenger Hunt. They got to look for something prickly (the pine needles), something soft (baby chipmunks), something that smells good (the flowers), something moving (the water), something an animal eats (the pine cones), something tall (the trees), and something blue (the bluebell flowers). Too much fun!!
This lake has beautiful views - and we went on a gorgeous, sunny day - with nice little areas where you can stop to take pictures, like this one with Hallett Peak in the background!
Our next excursion was to Bear Lake. The first thing the kids noticed as we headed down the path (which is a bit longer than Sprague Lake, and isn't quite as flat) was a patch of snow. Now, mind you, this was the end of July!! The kids loved it and they were throwing snow balls along with several other kids.
This path has lots of fun rocks for the kids to scurry up to the top. They have only hiked once before, so we weren't sure how they would do on the hikes, but there is so much to see and do that they just ran around both of the lakes without any problems at all.
About half way around the lake, my son noticed something moving in the water so he went over to the side of the lake - and low and behold, he really had seen fish. There were three of them hiding (or trying to) under the tree branches in the little stream that ran towards the lake.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The only tip I would give (that we forgot, unfortunately) is that since there had been a lot of snow this year, there were lots of mosquitoes - be sure to bring along repellent and good shoes for the kids to climb all over the rocks and run around comfortably!
Here's a final shot taken from Bear Lake ... The thunderstorm just missed us - and it was fun to listen to all the birds and animals, along with the boom of thunder just down the mountains. I highly recommend visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park with little ones. They're going to love it!!
Guest Blogger Kim Maurin
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