14th Annual Full Moon Drive to Lily Lake and RMNP's Alpine Visitor Center

The event: The lovely South St. Vrain Canyon road (Colo. Hwy 7) from Lyons to Raymond was re-paved in 2022, and is a perfect start for an afternoon Miata drive up past Allenspark and on to Lily Lake, and after a picnic, an early-evening drive up Trail Ridge Road, to Rocky Mountain National Park's Alpine Visitor Center.  

No RSVP: Just show up at the 3:15 pm Lafayette gathering--details on all that below. We should be arriving at Lily Lake around 5:15-5:30 pm, after a photo-op stop at the top of 2nd Avenue/Mountain View Drive in east Lyons. For our 'southside' members looking to avoid noisy interstates, consider taking the curvy Golden Gate Canyon Road west from north Golden up to Colo. 119, to enjoy the Peak to Peak Highway in its entirety, zooming north until the left at Hwy 7, to join us up at Lily Lake.

What to bring: Your picnic meal and beverage, a camp chair, rain gear and/or umbrella, and for the top of Trail Ridge Road, a winter jacket and hat.

The start: Meet at 3:15 pm at the north side of the parking lot of Walmart in Lafayette – it's on the west side of Hwy 287, north of Baseline, south of Arapahoe (GPS address: 745 US 287, Lafayette, CO 80026). It's not Buc-ee's, but there's a Murphy's fuel station, and Walmart's bathrooms are spacious and just inside the entrance. We will leave at 3:45 pm.

The fun: Pack up your picnic meal and beverage, and maybe some goodies to share, and we'll head up to a picnic area at the dock of Lily Lake, on west side of Hwy 7. Rain gear or an umbrella may come in handy at the lake. With luck, any showers will be brief, and will open up the full green glory of our Colorado mountains. Bring camp chairs in case the two picnic tables are taken. Enjoy your picnic meal, the lake scenery, and your fellow Peaksters, and perhaps walk the trail around the lake. We'll have our traditional sparkling wine toast to the late Terri Connolly, who first led this drive with husband Steve. As dusk approaches, we'll decamp for our evening climb up RMNP's Trail Ridge Road, to the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 feet of chilly elevation.

Google map link here (https://maps.app.goo.gl/r3VwFs4QL8b5GbU88).

The route: From our Walmart start, we'll head north on Hwy 287 about 7 miles until taking a left on Niwot Road, at the small RTD Park'n Ride lot. We'll drive west through Niwot and across Hwy 119 (the 'Diagonal Highway'), then take 73rd/75th Streets north, through through the town of Hygiene (watch for bicyclists) to Hwy 66. We'll go left (west) on 66 to Lyons, but before we get to downtown Lyons, we'll take a right up 2nd Ave, and then a bit further on Mountain View Drive until we come to a turn-around circle. We'll park in formation there for a brief photo op, before heading back down to Hwy 66 west through Lyons. Then we'll wait our chance to take a left at the end of Main Street, to head south on 5th Ave/Hwy 7. There will be lots of cars coming back from Estes Park on Hwy 36 from the right, so it may take some time for us all to make our left turns, but be patient, we'll pull over and regroup 1.5 miles up Hwy 7, at the Hall Ranch Trailhead lot on the right, where there's an outhouse. From there, enjoy the 13 mile drive up to the intersection with Hwy 72 on the left, and then continue 15 more miles on Hwy 7/Peak to Peak Hwy, past 13,916' Mount Meeker on the left, the Meeker Peak Lodge on the right, Saint Catherines 'Chapel on the Rock' on the left, and Eagle Plume's Native American jewelry on the right. Watch for deer, coyote, and moose! The lake is 12.9 miles beyond the intersection with Colo. 72, and 5.3 miles past the Meeker Park Lodge. (The lake comes up fast -- the visual cue is cars slowing for the parking lots left and right.) If there's room, you can park in the small lot on the left, otherwise turn into the gravel overflow lot on the right.

After our picnic party, we'll head north (left) toward Estes Park, take a left onto Mary's Lake Road, and then another left onto Hwy 36 into the park. The park entrance will most likely be un-personed, so we won't have to pay. Hwy 36 turns into Hwy 34/Trail Ridge Road when we pass Fall River Road on the right. We will continue on Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center, keeping an eye out for bighorn sheep, elk,  deer, and even a few late-day tourists. It's about 28 miles from the lake to the visitor center. The center will be closed, but the restrooms will be open. Bring your winter jacket and hat, as it's often frigid at the top. But if we're lucky, we'll see some wildlife, and a gorgeous vista on a full-moon evening. 

At the end of our visit to the top, we'll start our return back down Trail Ridge, toward home. Kathie and I will likely take Hwy 7 back to Lyons, but you can divert south (right) on Hwy 72 (moose alert!) at Raymond, to stay on the Peak to Peak Highway for a return home via Boulder Canyon, Hwy 72, or the Golden Gate Canyon or Hwy 6 to Golden.

Option: After reaching the Alpine Visitor Center, you might enjoy continuing on Trail Ridge Road west to Grand Lake and Granby, for an overnight in one of those towns, but check for room availability first. After a Sunday morning coffee at Granby's Simple Coffee Co., you can return home via Hwy 40 past Fraser and Winter Park, and then over Berthoud Pass to I-70. 

Questions?: For any additional information contact Rick Robinson (720-939-3733, email frroogle@gmail.com).