alpine visitor center

We stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center during our drive on the Trail Ridge Road. The views from up there were wonderful! There are some displays in the visitor center and then in the building next door is a huge gift shop with pretty much any kind of souvenir you'd be looking for. There was also a restaurant, but we didn't eat there. While my son and I browsed around the gift shop and watched the marmots outside, my husband took the steep path nearby. He said it was a good workout to get up there but worth it for the views.

I mean, literally, since it's pretty isolated here and when we visited, all mountain was covered by snow. there's a pretty good lookout spot. and several deer.

At the elevation, breathing is somewhat challenging even if you've acclimated to the Colorado atmosphere. It appears to be situated on/adjacent to a volcano crater. It's really neat.

Our week-long visit to the Rocky Mountain National Park was definitely enhanced by the stops at the various Visitor Centers (we made sure to stop at three). Alpine not only has gorgeous views, but also incredibly helpful and knowledgeable Rangers. This is a must for those with school aged kids who are on a mission to complete their activity packet and get their Junior Ranger badge!

Once you have made it all the way to the Alpine Visitors center via the Trail Ridge Rd, be prepared for a view that rivals anything you have ever seen.

Up on top of the mountain at 11,000 plus feet, take it easy if you just came to Colorado from the flatlands. Bathrooms are in the visitor center and also available across the parking lot (non-flush type). This place is usually packed and parking can be hard to find so my advice is to get up here early. There is a large gift shop with an array of souvenirs, some cheesy, but most of good quality. It's a great place to get something to drink and to have a snack if you didn't bring one along. The views from up here are awesome.

The visitor center was very crowed at this time of year, but there is so much to see. All kinds of things to buy up there for remembrances of your trip. They also have food in there if you forget your lunch (we brought our own). Make sure to climb the trail to the top of the mountain for a great look at the area. There are steps so just about anyone can do it. Remember you will be at 12,00 feet so drink a lot of water so you don't feel sick.

Well worth the trip. The views are great. Be sure to read about the building and operation of the facility.

After a white knuckle drive up it was a nice stop. Rangers were helpful telling us about birds of the area etc. The gift shop and coffee shop is a nice place to get that cup of cocoa after you have walked some of those windy trails. Delicious soups in the café. What a nice trail up to the ridge- hard on the knees. Must be beautiful in summer.

The gift shop must be the highest retail outlet in America. My husband and I spent an hour and 500$ in there. Beautiful if scary, no railings along the ride up - yikes. 12 thousand foot drop off's in an RV - yikes. But the center was interesting, informative and we enjoyed both the center and the gift shop immensely.

When traveling up Trail Ridge Road you obviously can either go all the way across to the other side of the park or you can turn around at some point and go back down the mountain. The Alpine visitor center is a great place to make that decision. At this point you are about as high on the road as you are going to get, Milner pass is still a few miles down the road, but it’s also a lower elevation. The Alpine Visitor center has a large parking lot, but it was still extremely hard to find a spot. We finally spotted a group headed to their car and then waited another few minutes for them to finally pull out. The visitor center is several things. First it’s a visitor center which means there’s informational stuff about the park. Second, it’s an overlook and observation point, and provides amazingly breathtaking views. Thirdly, it’s a huge souvenir and gift shop. It’s not quite as big as the Fall River Visitor Center. Lastly, the visitor center is a place to eat. There’s a small cafeteria type deli in the visitor center where you can get sandwiches, chips, drinks, and snacks. We took advantage of the place and spent quite a little while at the visitor center. We found a nice quiet place next to a window and ate lunch. The food wasn’t super, it was typical cafeteria deli type food, but it was what we needed at the time. After we ate went outside into the cool air and checked out the view of the surrounding mountaintops, and the nearby snow (in July). Then we made the decision that we had gone far enough this trip and we headed back down the mountain the same way we had come. Next year we plan to make the trip all the way over the top to the western side of the park. I would recommend Alpine Visitor Center.

This visitor center is at the top of the Trail Ridge Road in RMNP. We stopped here to get some suggestions on some easy trails my wife and I could hike. On first pass of the information desk, two workers were busy talking to each other and didn't acknowledge me. I used the restroom and came back. They were still in their personal conversation, which I interrupted to ask some questions. There answers were very short and I felt that i needed to dig for the information I was looking for. Finally, one took out a trail map and pointed to some trails. I asked if she could maybe highlight them so I would remember what she said. She did...and we were on our way. The gift shop was great! We stopped here after hiking to the top of the mountain and my wife was able to buy a sweatshirt that said, "I made it to the top". We had some hot chocolate and coffee to warm us up as it was only in the 30's outside. This is a must stop for the views and I do hope that it was just an "off" day for the information and that typically they are more helpful.

Lots of trinkets to browse and shop. Nice mementos to bring home, but rather expensive. Parking can be troublesome too.

A worthy stop to make while you are in the park. After a winding drive up, you arrive at the visitor center. Even in June there is snow to be seen. The views are fantastic and we saw marmots in the area. If you go make sure to take a jacket (even in the middle of summer) the weather can be cold even when temps at the base are warm. The center has a restaurant, shop and plenty of great vistas for photo taking.

We visited in mid-June, so there were still huge piles of snow around the Visitors Center (and on the sides of the road up) and the path above the place had definitely long since disappeared under the snow. It was interesting inside, with a cafe to get refreshments and a wonderful view out from a large expanse of windows to the valley below. The displays were quite interesting. The buildings here are robust, as they have to survive many months of isolation, being cut off from everything for many months on end.We were lucky that it wasn't too busy, as it was early in their season. By travelling this far out of Estes Park, you'll definitely travel over the highest point on the Trail Ridge Road of 12,183 ft. Enjoy.