National Park Photos of the Day

For a couple of national parks in the Rocky Mountains, winter isn't quite over yet. Check out the NPS photo below from earlier this week showing 22 foot drifts near Bus Terminus on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail Ridge Road runs through the heart of the park, and is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. The road climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. Near the road's highest point, at Lake Irene near Milner Pass, there are still 114 inches of snow on the ground!

There has been so much new snow in Colorado this month that Aspen and Arapahoe Basin will be reopening to skiers during the Memorial Day weekend.

Record snows in Wyoming are also causing problems in and around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The Beartooth Highway, the scenic highway that links the communities of Cooke City and Red Lodge, Montana, will not be open for the holiday weekend. The road is still buried under more than 25 feet of snow in some spots, and has pushed back the plowing schedule as crews continue working on the road - as you can see in this NPS Photo:


If planning a trip to any of these parks, you may want to check this NPS Digest report for more details.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com