Rocky Mountain National Park

Hello Everyone,

Over the next year, international travel will slowly return. In the meantime, I am expanding my tours within the United States; no need to stop traveling when some of the most beautiful birds and landscapes in the world are in our very own National Parks. This newsletter is about our summer tours in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a high elevation area. Established in 1915, the park covers 267 acres (416 square miles), and has 359 miles of hiking trails. The lowest point in the park is about 8,100 feet and most trailheads are located from 8,200 - 10,500. For this reason, we only offer Private Trips, so your entire group will be similarly acclimated to the altitude. We recommend that you arrive a few days early and stay on Grand Lake (8,300 feet) for our winter tours or either Grand Lake or Estes Park (7,800 feet) for our summer and fall tours to help you acclimate. Altitude sickness and fatigue will ruin your trip, so please Plan Ahead and Prepare (Leave No Trace principle #1).

At Rocky Mountain National Park, elk, moose, and coyotes can be seen roaming the meadows, while Bears, Mountain Lions and Bobcats are some of the more elusive predators we find in the forested areas. Little critters like Marmots, Chipmunks and Ground Squirrels are abundant. During the summer, the colorful wildflowers and tundra plants are stunning. Longs Peak, the highest mountain in the park, rises up to 14,255 feet. Trail Ridge Road crosses over the tundra and the continental divide and summits at 12,200 feet. A visit to Rocky Mountain National Park will be an experience you will not forget!

Birding, Wildlife, and Hiking Tours: Over 300 different species of birds have been identified in Rocky Mountain National Park and the park has 359 miles of hiking trails for single day or multi day tours. If you will be in the national park area for an extended period of time, we highly recommend spending time in all five life zones in the area. Starting in Rocky Mountain National Park, you will find different species of birds in the four major zones in the park: Alpine, Sub-alpine, Montane, and Riparian. At the edge of the park, you will find the foothills, plains and high mountain parks. We can arrange an extended birding tours of the different areas for you.

Alpine Tours: Trail Ridge Road crosses Rocky Mountain National Park and the continental divide and the high point on the road reaches 12,200 feet. The Alpine Visitor Center is along Trail Ridge Road at 11,800 feet. We will take you on several short nature walks and teach you about the plants, animals and geology of the Alpine Tundra.

Stargazing and Night Sounds: We don’t have a telescope, but we love to go into the National Park at night and look for shooting stars, falling meteorites, the Milky-way and orbiting satellites. We will teach you about the constellations of the sky. The mountain sky is truly clear and on a moonless night, you will be amazed about the number of stars in the sky. Nighttime is also a great time for night sounds.

Overnight Backpacking: There is nothing more wonderful than waking up in the backcountry. Mountain mornings are cool and calm, night skies are brilliant with stars and the air is quiet; to awake next to a high mountain crystal clear lake or stream is an incredible experience. Rocky Mountain National Park is a high elevation area and most backcountry campsites are located from 9,500 - 10,500 and some sites are located over 11,000 feet. For this reason, we only offer private trips, so your entire group will be similarly acclimated. We advise you to arrive a few days early to better acclimate to the altitude.

Available backpacking dates or contact us for dates you prefer:

August 1 - 4: Colorado River Trail, Never Summer Range (Ditch Camp site at 10,160 feet), 3 nights/4 days (easy - moderate) minimum 9 miles round trip with 1,160 feet elevation gain. Spots Available = 6

August 8 - 10: East Inlet Trail (Slick Rock site at 10,000 feet), 2 nights/3 days (moderate) minimum 12 miles roundtrip with 1,610 elevation gain. Spots Available = 6

August 25 - 27: East Inlet Trail (Solitaire site at 10,120 feet), 2 nights/3 days (moderate) minimum 13 miles round trip with 1,730 feet elevation gain. Spots Available = 6

August 29 - September 1: Green Mountain Trail (Tanahutu Meadows at 10,050 feet), 3 nights/4 days (moderate) minimum 13 miles round trip with 1,250 elevation gain. Spots Available = 6

September 7 - 10: Wild Basin Trial (North St. Vrain site at 9,560 feet), 3 nights/4 days (easy - moderate) minimum 7 miles round trip with 1,060 feet elevation gain. Spots Available = 6

Because of the high altitude, for each backpacking trip we hike-in and set up a base camp and stay at the same location for every night. From camp we day-hike each day to different lakes, trails, or summits in that area and so you will not need to carry a heavy pack every day. This will allow for a better trip if you are not fully acclimated to the altitude. Please contact for more details about trips.

Email me at KaiyoteTours@gmail.com or call 970-556-6103

Click here to check out the Great Sand Dunes National Park webpage

Colorado: Besides tours in Rocky Mountain National Park, I will also be offering multi-day tours throughout Colorado. These locations will include Great Sand Dunes National Park, the Pawnee National Grasslands, the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, and Colorado State Parks. There is a lot to see in Colorado due to the extreme changes in elevation. All my tours in Colorado are private due to the high elevation.

Olympic National Park: Birding, Hiking, and Overnight Backpacking tours will continue on the Olympic Peninsula. Reservations for back-country permits for overnight backpacking begin 6-months in advance and summer reservations book up fast, so if you are interested in camping in a quota area, it is best to plan at least 6-months early.

Washington State: The biodiversity and landscape of Washington is impressive. From the Pacific Ocean, to the Cascade Range of Volcanoes and the eastern habitats of desert, It is hard to see everything in a short visit. These tours includes Olympic National Park, Olympic National Forest, the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Washington State Parks. I offer 5-day tours, 10-day tours, and private custom tours as well. Come see the amazing Pacific Northwest.

Santa Fe: Every year in mid August we visit Santa Fe for Opera and Birding. If you are interested in Opera, this is a fantastic tour. If you do not like opera, you can sign up for the "Birding Only" part of the trip. Either way, this is a fun and interesting trip to Santa Fe, which includes Bandelier National Monument, the Randall Davey Audubon Center Sanctuary, and the Abiquiu Ghost Ranch.

New Mexico: Besides my opera tour, I also will be offering a 7-day tour in southern New Mexico which will include locations such as the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Petroglyph National Monument, the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, White Sands National Park, and private custom tours as well.

Montana: This tour starts in Missoula and slowly travels a 550-mile loop through southwestern Montana over the course of 7-days. From Missoula, we will travel through areas near Helena, Bozeman, Butte, Dillon, and Deer Lodge: Big Sky country, every bit of it. Come and see the beautiful landscapes and beautiful birds of Montana.

Chicago: My home town! So much to see and do and also a great place for urban birding. This is both a bird tour and also a culture tour which includes The Second City Comedy Club, the Chicago Symphony, Opera, Architecture, and great food.

Kaiyote and Ed: We are doing great and we are keeping busy with various local projects and looking towards the future. We can't wait to get out again and travel and go adventuring around the world where ever the birds might lead us.