Dispersed camping outside of Rocky Mountain National Park

Spent a beautiful Labor Day weekend in the national forest outside of stunning Estes Park, CO.  For those outside of Colorado, Estes Park is the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park as well as being the "Elk capitol" of the state.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous without a cloud in the sky.  Daytime temps were in the mid 70's with overnight lows dropping into the low 40's.  Fire restrictions were lifted just in time Lol!  The forest road from the freeway is fairly smooth with a few rutted spots here and there. About 4 miles in, you encounter Parachute Hill (a technical 4X4 route that leads up to some epic campsites).  High clearance & 4wd is pretty much a necessity. However, our friend made it up with their stock Baby Bronco - with only a little motivation.  A few campsites give you uninterrupted views of Longs Peak & RMNP.  Longs Peak has the distinction of being the only 14er in the National Park.  Our campsite had plenty of shade on this sunny weekend.  The sound of the wind between the pines was a bit of the Devine Music that Scott knows so well. Aspens mixed with the pines created some picturesque scenery.  I will definitely be going back in about a month the get the full experience of the autumn colors.

GPS : 40.236641, -105.483617