Photograph Wildlife at the Rock Cut

Estes Park, Colorado

Description

Find pikas and marmots sun bathing at this popular spot for tundra wildlife.

Head West on Trail Ridge road and keep an eye for a parking area 4.1 miles east of the Alpine Visitor Center, and west of Deer Ridge Junction. Here you'll find a large parking area on both sides of the road.

Pikas are found scurrying back and forth from their hideouts (where they keep their "haystacks") to down the hill to grab more food to store for the winter. These small critters are hard to spot at first, but look for movement along the tundra hillside and suddenly you'll see many of them. You can frequently here them calling to each other with a short screechy "eeechk!" type of noise as well.

Yellow Bellied Marmots are another alpine tenant of this area. Often found sunbathing on the larger rocks in this area. You may hear them whistle to each other to warn about predators.

Other wildlife occasionally seen here can include Elk, Deer, Mountain Goats and Big Horned Sheep depending on the time of year.

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Features

Chillin

Photography

Bathrooms

Easy Parking

Family Friendly

Scenic

Wildflowers

ADA Accessible

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